


chemistry.

by wildwildhq



Category: Haikyuu!!, ハイパープロジェクション演劇「ハイキュー!!」| Hyper Projection Play "Haikyuu!!" RPF
Genre: Akaashi Keiji & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Akaashi Keiji Is So Done, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst (minor), Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou are Bros, Bokuto Koutarou is a Good Friend, Boys In Love, Cheating, Everyone Is Gay, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Heavy Drinking, Implied Sexual Content, Love Confessions, M/M, One Night Stands, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepovers, Swearing, lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26120341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildwildhq/pseuds/wildwildhq
Summary: Tooru tends to make bad decisions, such as taking chemistry during high school, even though it's glaringly obvious that he isn't good at it whatsoever.Now he's in college doing something that isn't related to chemistry at all, and stuck in the middle of one-night stands, harsh breakups and something that is unnervingly similar to a love hexagon.Honestly, fuck you, chemistry.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou & Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou, Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou & Yachi Hitoka, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio & Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kuroo Tetsurou & Oikawa Tooru, Kuroo Tetsurou/Oikawa Tooru, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Oikawa Tooru & Matsukawa Issei & Hanamaki Takahiro & Shimizu Kiyoko, Oikawa Tooru/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Ushijima Wakatoshi & Tendou Satori & Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 11
Kudos: 38





	1. chemistry.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i'm carrot :D welcome to this mess of a fic ft. oikuroo, ushiten, iwaoi, kuroken, kagehina, tsukkiyama, kurotsukki, ushioi, kenhina, matsuhana, kiyotana and of course, our holy ship- bokuaka! (be warned- half these ships die halfway, and this isn't a harem fic.)  
> a few pointers:  
> \- this contains mentions of cheating  
> \- there's a LOT of drunk shit happening  
> \- some angst in the middle  
> \- social media (dUh)
> 
> [fic playlist! - based on character, not on plot (for once, i have done this)](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2EPW4D0dsof2g0DXJoLa9u?si=493492754f564c87)
> 
> all that out of the way,  
> thank you for clicking on this fic <3 comments + kudos are appreciated!  
> have fun~~

Oikawa Tooru makes bad decisions. A lot of bad decisions. One of the worst decisions he had ever made was to choose Chemistry as an elective in high school. 

“Right, I’ll be going, Shittykawa,” Mattsun snickered, giving Makki a high-five that was dangerously close to Oikawa’s perfectly gelled hair. 

Mattsun had left in his usual flurry of papers and chairs being kicked in various directions, bag flapping wildly behind him.

“Sorry, Oiks, I can’t help you make these reactions when the lab is occupied by the Chemistry club,” Kiyoko sighed. “They don’t seem to be wrapping up anytime soon.”

Oikawa rubbed at his face harshly. “No, it’s alright,” he groaned. “I’ll manage this somehow.”

When Oikawa looked up, he flashed a small, tired grin. “You should get going, Kiyo-tan.”

“Hm, I should,” Kiyoko replied, looking at her watch. “Bye, boys.”

Makki had waved eagerly, whereas Oikawa had continued his assault on the paper with his eraser, scratching away at it furiously. A ping from one of their phones reached Oikawa’s ears, but he ignored it.

“Shitty Oikawa,” Makki said, clicking his tongue. “You’re crumpling the paper!” He pried the eraser away from Oikawa’s strong but sweaty grip and gently rubbed the lines. “I have to go to tennis practice. Mattsun’s mom is picking me up from there, so I need to get there earlier than usual.”

“Ah,” Oikawa replied. “Take care, Makki.”

“You too, Shittykawa,” Makki said, waving as he walked away. Before closing the door of the classroom, he yelled (for good measure), “Don’t lose your last 5 brain cells!”

With that, the door slammed shut, and Oikawa was left in his seat at the edge of the class, with a gentle breeze, the most frustrating pile of Chemistry papers and his last 5 brain cells.

Oikawa Tooru was a hard worker. Always has been and always will be. When he was 9, he saw a prima ballerina on the television when Kiyoko was over at his house and suddenly found an interest in dance. After a year of searching, he finally found and enrolled in a school of dance which took in males. 

With self-discipline and hard work, the brunet managed to control, condition, align, love and respect his body. He trained his muscles and blessed with the body of a dancer, he could lift his slender form higher into the air, toes curled and legs stick-straight.  
Even if Mattsun had teased him initially, even if Makki’s first attempt at giving him leg warmers was to _cut some sleeves off a sweater and sew the ends so that it resembled a leg warmer_ and even if Kiyoko had left dance a long time ago- Oikawa would always love dance and that will never change.

Back to the topic at hand. Oikawa’s constant urge to improve made sure he was always studying and working hard, but this set of Chemistry homework might just defeat him.

Letting out the loudest, most emotional groan that afternoon, the tall boy stacked his homework papers and shoved them into his bag, pushed his desk away and got up, stretching his cold muscles. Giving his shoulders a final shake, he picked up his bag and left the classroom. 

He had been sitting at that desk for nearly three hours. His butt was numb, his head was pounding, his throat hurt with unshed tears.

Smart, hard-working Oikawa couldn’t even get the first equation right, and that was making him feel sick.

Oikawa’s eyes burned with tears, and he pushed open the door to the bathroom and entered one of the stalls. Plopping down on the closed toilet seat, he put his elbows on his knees and sunk his head into his hands, sighing. 

_‘It’s okay to cry, Tooru,’_ he reminded himself. _‘Just let it all out.’_

He did. He cried with frustration for at least 10 minutes. He felt his sinuses clog up as the stream of tears began weakening. He picked up his tired self and opened the door to his stall, washed his face and took a deep breath. 

“You can do this, Tooru,” he told himself. “Go to the Chemistry lab and finish this homework.”

He bolted out of the bathroom and slammed the door to the Chemistry lab open. His eyes widened as he saw one lonely boy, hunched awkwardly over the counter and pouring chemicals into beakers with an intense look through his goggles. 

Taking a step back, he added one last clear liquid to his little mixture that was brewing, snickering like a demented hyena and looking at his chemicals expectantly. 

What happened next shocked Oikawa so much, he fell on his face.

The purplish mixture started gently foaming before erupting in a glorious shoot of foam that travelled up to 10 centimetres into the air before falling down onto the counter in beautiful little swirls. Hyena-guy cheered, eyes bright and sparkly and scheming before turning to Oikawa and saying, “That was so cool, right?”

Oikawa raised his head up from the floor, feeling blood dribble down his chin in a red stream, and pushing a handkerchief to his nose, he replied with a feeble nod.

“Kuroo Tetsurou, a pleasure to meet you,” Hyena-guy,- Kuroo-, supplied.

“Oikaba Tohru,” Oikawa replied, awkwardly.

“Let’s get you to the nurse,” Kuroo said, ripping his apron, goggles and gloves off and scrubbing his hands thoroughly. “Are you alright?” 

Oikawa had hoisted himself up and was sitting on the floor with one leg bent and the other leg folded, smiling a lopsided smile and rubbing his forehead with one hand and holding his hanky to his nose firmly with the other. 

“Never been better.” 

Kuroo and Oikawa knew that they were going to be best friends from that minute.

  
  


The next day, in the morning, Oikawa was walking through the hallways to his class. He made a pit-stop in the bathroom to check on his knee, which was throbbing a little from yesterday’s leg lifts and plie pulses. After that, humming some cheerful song by CHiCO, he skipped to his classroom, only to bump into (the-guy-in-the-lab-with-the crazy-hair-and-crazier-chemicals, as dubbed by Makki) Kuroo.

“Why, if it isn’t Oikawa Tooru,” Kuroo said, smirking in a way that made Oikawa want to punch him. 

** oOoOO oOoOO seiJOH **

_kiyolo: i did some digging_

_kiyolo: on this kuroo tetsurou guy_

_toorup: ooh what did you find?_

_macci n cheese: yes spill the tea_

_hakuna matsukawa: make it piping hot_

_kiyolo: aboutkt.jpeg_

_kiyolo: a lil list i prepared_

_kiyolo: thank me later @toorup_

_toorup: you are: a blessing to this world_

Oikawa had stared at the list, and right about now, he had never been more grateful to Kiyo-tan and her incredible list-compiling abilities. 

_‘He’s the crafty, scheming type. Can easily provoke you. Provoke him back to cancel the effect,’_ Oikawa told himself, and he looked back at Kuroo and returned the same cheeky grin.

“And if it isn’t Kuroo Tetsurou,” he replied, a little loftily.

A hint of surprise flashed across Kuroo’s slanted, narrowed cat-like eyes, gone so quickly that Oikawa would’ve missed it if he wasn’t looking so hard.

“It is, glad you remember my name!” Kuroo said, smiling. “How are you today?”

Kuroo’s provocative tinge was gone entirely, he seemed softer and more cheerful, so Oikawa assumed he won. (He did, of course.)

“I’m better. Thank you for your help yesterday!” Oikawa bowed in thanks.  
“Now, now, Oikawa-kun, get up already, this is embarrassing,” Kuroo remarked, flapping his hands nonchalantly. 

“Oh, sorry,” Oikawa replied, sheepish.

“No problem. Is it okay if I gave you a nickname?” Kuroo asked, with that cat-like smile back on his face.  
“Yeah, sure, but only if I give you one too!” Oikawa pouted for emphasis.  
  
  


“Hm, alright,” Kuroo agreed, thinking. He snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up. “I’ll call you Tooru-chan!”  
“Really? I was thinking of calling you Tetsu-chan!”

“I love nicknames with ‘chan,’ they’re so much fun! And they annoy the other person to no end,” Kuroo laughed at this. Oikawa joined in.

“We’re going to get along like a house on fire, Tetsu-chan.”

“I think we already are.”

Oikawa smiled at that; his heart was warming up. Sure, he loved Makki and Mattsun, despite their clumsiness and memes, adored Kiyo-tan, even if she was colder than ice. But he had known them since he was in his mother’s womb and they were practically his siblings. Kuroo was new, Kuroo was fresh, Kuroo was someone Oikawa was willing to get to know better. 

Kuroo and Oikawa had begun to walk to their class, passing by the Chemistry lab on the way there. Kuroo suddenly gasped and turned to Oikawa.  
“Ah, Tooru-chan, yesterday you came into the Chemistry lab looking very…” Kuroo carded his hand through his hair as he tried to think of a word that described Oikawa’s expression at that moment. Eyes wide, mouth set in a firm pout, hair wild- aha! “Very determined,” Kuroo finished.

Oikawa raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Hm, yeah,” he chuckled. “I was screwing up my Chemistry equations so I decided to go to the Chemistry lab to try and get a better idea of what the hell I was doing.”

“I see. We have 15 minutes before class starts, what time do you have Chemistry today?”

“Oh, I don’t have Chemistry today, I have it tomorrow,” Oikawa said, thoughtfully. “Wait, why?”

“Because I wanna help you with your homework,” Kuroo said, calmly. “If you don’t mind. I’m really good at Chemistry,” he continued, “But I bet you already knew that.”

They laughed, remembering when Oikawa fell on his face looking at the reaction Kuroo had made (he would later learn it was called ‘Elephant Toothpaste’ from Matsukawa, and fall on his ass in laughter) yesterday.

“Okay, if you can help me after school, that would be great.”  
“I can, in fact, help you after school.”

They reached their separate classes. They fist-bumped each other before going to their classrooms.

“Bye, Tetsu-chan.”

“Bye, Tooru-chan.”

The next week, Kuroo introduced Oikawa to his other friends- an owlish-looking dude, a gorgeous raven and a trembly, soft-spoken blonde girl.

“Yo, Bokuto!” Kuroo called out. Oikawa looked at ‘Bokuto’ and recognized him instantly.

“Hey…” Oikawa said, shocked. “Is that Bokuto Koutaro?! That aspiring violinist?”

“Yeah,” Kuroo replied, eagerly. “How did you know?”  
“He played for one of my performances!”

“Perf-”

“HEY HEY HEY,” Bokuto yelled from his corner in the class. “If it isn’t my man Kuroo!”

He got up, making his way to them. He looked more filled out and taller than when Oikawa had last seen him.

“This guy here is Oikawa-”

“Oh my god, are you Oikawa Tooru? _The_ Oikawa Tooru?”

Oikawa chuckled, bashful. “Ah, I’m not sure what you mean by ‘ _the_ Oikawa Tooru…”

“Yeah,” Kuroo asked, extremely lost. “Whaddya mean, ‘ _the_ Oikawa Tooru’?”

“Dude,” Bokuto scoffed in disbelief. “Are you for real? This guy is a famous ballerina! I played for his ‘Giselle’ performance,” he turned to Oikawa, eyes sparkling. “You were so cool in that! Like, you flew in the air, it was so surreal! I nearly stopped playing.”

Oikawa blushed, before smiling cheekily and responding. “Of course, that was one of my best.”

“Damn straight,” Bokuto agreed.

“Oikawa Tooru, you never told me you’re a ballerina,” Kuroo said, eyes wide. “After all we’ve been through-”  
“Tetsu-chan, we’ve been friends for 8 days.”

“ _Still!_ Where’s the trust in this friendship!?” He sounded betrayed.

“I’ll tell you the whole story at lunch,” Oikawa offered. “Is that alright?”

“Yay!”

“AKUWAAAAASHIIIIIIIIII,” Bokuto yelled- no, he fucking _screamed_ at a thin boy who was opening his bento box at his desk. Oikawa jumped five feet into the air, but Kuroo and the boy in question were unfazed.

The boy looked up, eyes steely grey and expressionless. “Yes, Bokuto-san?”

“Come meet Oikawa!”

Akuwaashee (Oikawa wondered how the hell one wrote that in Kanji) got up from his desk, eyebrows scrunched. He bowed at Oikawa.

“Oikawa-san, hello,” Akuwaashee said, politely. He straightened himself. “I’m Akaashi Keiji.”

“Oh,” Oikawa said, bowing back. “I thought your name was Aku- Akuwaashee?”

Kuroo snickered. Bokuto looked hurt. Akaashi was confused, but then he cleared his throat.

“Ah, Bokuto-san likes mispronouncing my name, apparently,” Akaashi said, dryly.

Oikawa choked on air. Kuroo was clutching his stomach and laughing like a demented, high hyena.

“Aghaasee,” Bokuto squawked. “How mean!”  
“Hm.”

“Uh, one question,” Oikawa said. “Why does Aka-chan call you guys by ‘san’? Aren’t we all the same age?”  
“Akaashi here is younger than all of us,” Kuroo explained. “He’s some sorta genius, so he’s in our grade.”

“Akaashi-san!” A tiny voice called out. “I need to talk to you for a bit.”  
“Oh, Yacchan!” Bokuto boomed. “Yacchan-”

“Yachi,” the girl corrected.

“Same difference! Yachi is also our friend! She’s like our younger sister.”

“You must be Oikawa-san,” Yachi said, bowing. “Kuroo-san was telling me about you on the train. We’re neighbours.”

“Ah, hello, Yacchan! Nice to meet you.” 

“I can never win, can I,” Yachi groaned comically.

“Anyways, you’ve met my friends,” Kuroo said. “I wanna meet yours!”

“You’ll get along just fine,” Oikawa reassured. “They’re just as weird as you. Well, aside from Kiyo-tan.”  
“K-K-Kiyo-tan?” Yachi stammered. “As in Kiyoko-san?”

“Yeah, do you know her?”  
“I manage the volleyball club with her!”  
  


“Guys,” Kuroo said, vibrating with excitement. “We should _all_ go and meet Tooru-chan’s friends.”  
  


The small group cheered, save for Akaashi, who just nodded. Oikawa wondered if he was always this neutral.

“Let’s go!” Oikawa announced.

Makki was playing a game of ‘reverse-stone-paper-scissors’ with Mattsun, whilst Kiyoko was talking to her boyfriend. Bokuto appeared out of nowhere, followed by Kuroo and Oikawa. Akaashi and Yachi staggered behind.

“HEY HEY HEY!”

“Is that his signature thing or something,” Oikawa whispered. “It sure as hell sounds like it.”  
“It is,” Kuroo agreed. “I think.”  
“Yeah,” Akaashi confirmed. “Bokuto-san says it _all_ the time at home.”  
“At home?” Oikawa questioned.

“Oh, those two are together,” Kuroo chimed in. “I don’t know how Akaashi does it.”  
“Congratulations!” Oikawa cheered. 

“Thank you, Oikawa-san.”

When they turned, Kiyoko’s boyfriend’s best friend was hitting on Yachi, who was turning bright red. Makki’s hair was a travesty because Bokuto had whipped out some gel and poofed it into the spiky mess that was Bokuto’s own hair. Mattsun was rolling on the floor laughing, - yes, _literally rolling_ -, and Oikawa, Kuroo and Akaashi wondered just what they had gotten themselves into.

** IKKEIIII ikKeI iKkEi iKkeI sEIjOh **

_tetsubro: so that was oikawa tooru_

_tetsubro: whaddya think_

_koutabro: hes nice!! I like makki best tho makki is fun so is mattsun_

_yayachill: makki? Mattsun?_

_koutabro: pink dude and tired dude_

_yayachill: oH- i see_

_yayachill: kiyo-tan do be da best doe :eyes:  
suffering: 2x the idiots_

_suffering: 2x the suffering_

\-------------

During February, right before finals, the second-years of Aoba Johsai had to throw a farewell party for the third-years who were leaving. Kuroo, Oikawa and their friends were seated at their usual spot outside the gym, in a circle and staring at each other.

None of the second-years wanted to throw the third-years a party, but since the gang had helped Kuroo make his biggest ‘Elephant Toothpaste’ explosion in their usual spot and the chemicals splattered all over the outer walls of the gym… Yeah, they got suspended for two weeks and were forced to plan the huge party all by themselves.

“It was fun, though!” Kuroo whined as Oikawa slapped his head. 

“Yes, Tetsu-chan, it was, but now we’re stuck planning a farewell party for a bunch of snotty third-years! I mean, I respect them and all that,” Oikawa ranted. “But, oh my god, they piss me off!”

The group let out a collective sigh as Yachi flopped on her back and stared at the sky, the others following after.

Bokuto shot up and snapped his fingers loudly, eyes shining.

“I just had an amazing idea!”  
“On how to kill the third-years?” Oikawa suggested, getting up. “I’m thinking we should tie the Miya twins to a tree and force-”  
“No, no,” Bokuto said, laughing. “On how to approach this party!”

Oikawa flopped back down. “Hmph. Go ahead.”

“So,” Bokuto continued, ignoring the group’s dismissive attitude. “It's a party, right? We’re throwing a farewell party for the third-years. Well, instead of looking at it like, ‘oh no, we’re throwing a _farewell_ party,’ what if we thought it was like, a… A ‘ _good riddance_ party’ or something?”

“A good riddance party,” Akaashi repeated, slowly getting up and sitting straight. All of the others got up and stared at Bokuto.

“Kou-chan,” Oikawa breathed out. “You’re a fucking genius.”

The plans were made. Streamers were put up, banners of the third-years’ best pictures (Oikawa apparently had to dig through mountains of crap to get some decent pictures, but it was clearly an exaggeration) were tied, bands were booked and food was ordered.

According to Kiyoko, whose boyfriend had a sister in the third-year (Saeko Tanaka, captain of the volleyball girls’ team), the most popular band was Galileo Galilei. Bokuto, being famous within the music circle, had to pull a few strings and he had booked the band to play at the party. 

Kuroo had been snooping around and found out that the third-years absolutely _hated_ the Seijoh colours, and preferred it if they wore red and black. He then proceeded to make everything he could find red and black, using food colouring and other things.

Makki and Mattsun went to the same tennis class as Sakusa Kiyoomi. And Sakusa had told his first-year doubles partner, Komori Motoya, that all the third-years kept whining about how much they craved a whole buffet of random food all the time. Mattsun somehow managed to remember all of that, and the food was ordered.

As if they were spies, the second-years each grabbed a piece of information and worked with it to create the best party for the third-years ever. Even if it was good, the second-years kept thinking it was a _good riddance party._ Nobody isn’t sure why or how this works, but it somehow kept them going.

Everything was clockwork and smooth until Galileo Galilei bailed on them.

“You- You can’t be serious,” Bokuto choked to his manager over the phone. “We booked them over a _month_ ago!”

Profuse apologies came over the line. Oikawa’s eyes were wide with fear.

“No, it’s fine… There’s no way they can make it?”  
More apologies, Bokuto was on the verge of tears.

“Right. Thank you…”  
  
  


He cut the call. “Yeah, my dudes, we’re fucked.”

Akaashi rushed towards him, pulling him into a hug and rubbing soothing circles on his back.

“Hey, shh. It’s alright,” he whispered. “You tried.”

Kuroo and Oikawa hugged Bokuto as well.

“What are we going to do?” Yachi asked in despair.

“Hm…” Kiyoko thought. “This might be a bad idea, but maybe we could cover some of their songs for them?”  
“I’m sorry, Kiyo-tan,” Oikawa shook his head vigorously. “That’s a bad idea.”  
  
  


“Listen,” Kiyoko pressed. “We have a weird bunch, alright? But we’re all talented. We can use a karaoke version. Bokuto can sing, so can Oikawa. Heck, we’ll even make Kuroo or Akaashi sing too. Makki and Mattsun can handle the music. Yachi and I… we’ll manage the crowd. Just,” Kiyoko groaned, “If you can just… Just do your best, we can do this!”  
  
  


“We’ll do it,” Makki said. “But we only have a month to practice! How are we going to do this?”

“That’s simple,” Mattsun and Kiyoko said at the same time. “We get suspended again.”

  
“Potassium,” Kuroo demanded, holding out his hand. 

“Potassium,” Oikawa repeated, handing the box.

Kuroo poured half the box into his huge bin. They were dressed in PPE to shield themselves from the explosion.

“Water.”  
“Water,” Bokuto supplied.

The full can of water was mixed in. The empty can was given back.

“Ladles.”

Makki grabbed a ladle and Mattsun grabbed the other and they mixed the potassium and water to make a purplish solution.

“Green.”

Kuroo twisted the cap and poured the entire bottle of green food dye into the bin.

“Blue.” Same sequence.

“White.”

“Ladles.” More mixing.

“Kuroo?” Oikawa questioned.

“Yeah,” Kuroo responded. He was carrying his glass bottle of clear liquid, then handed it over to Oikawa. 

“You know what to do, right?”  
“Yeah,” Oikawa said. “I remember.”  
“Good luck,” Akaashi called out, hiding behind Bokuto, who was also cowering behind a bush. Kuroo clambered up a tree and sat in its branches.

“You guys ready?” Oikawa called out.

“Yes!” Kiyoko and Yachi replied, poised in a way showing they were ready to sprint to the main building, already at a safe distance from the toothpaste.

Makki and Mattsun yelled back, hidden safely behind the fence of the tennis courts.

“Ready!” Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi said, also at a safe distance.

“3!”  
“2!”

Oikawa took a deep breath as he positioned the glass bottle directly above the tranquil solution.

“1!”

He dropped the bottle into the trashcan, and it all happened _so very quickly._

Yachi and Kiyoko dashed towards the main building, and Oikawa felt a blast of cold air behind him as the chemicals reacted violently.

“OIKAWA!” Kuroo screamed. “DIVE! _NOW!_ ”

Oikawa kicked his foot off the ground, hoping to get enough momentum as he dived as far as he could before extending his arms and pushing the ground, trying to slow down. When he couldn’t, he bent his legs to his chest and curled into a ball and did three front rolls before crashing into the bushes. Akaashi quickly grabbed his PPE and yanked him to where he was sitting.

The boys crept out of their hiding places and surveyed the damage.

“You know,” Kuroo commented. “It would be a miracle if we don’t get expelled.”

“You six,” the vice-principal growled, standing at the edge of the clearing, fuming. “My office,” he snapped his fingers. “Now!” 

Kiyoko and Yachi stood behind him in mock fear, inside they were jumping for joy like the boys were.

“I can’t believe you guys,” he groaned, pacing. The six stood in the middle of the room awkwardly, guilty for not feeling guilty and praying that their not-guiltiness wasn’t showing on their faces. “You are suspended for a whole month. All of you. Shimizu-san, Yachi-san,” the vice-principal turned to them. “You guys will stop being part of the farewell party committee from today. You have been relieved.”

“E-E-E-Excuse me,” Yachi stammered, turning red from being so trembly. “Kiyoko- I mean, S-S-Shimizu-san and I would like to continue being part of the committee…” Her voice trailed off as she saw all the people in the room staring at her in disbelief. Wow, they were tall. It was terrifying.

“Please!” Yachi continued, bowing so much her head was touching the floor. “W-W-We’ve been planning this with the boys for three months, and…” She breathed in and then exhaled. “And we would like to finish what we started! Please!”

Everyone was silent. The vice-principal opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He raised a finger and then put it down. He groaned loudly and the sat down. 

“Fine. But you six are still suspended. Thank you, everyone, you can leave.”  
  


It took all of Oikawa’s willpower and his last half-a-brain-cell to _not_ jump for joy and blow their cover.

“Yacchan, my respect for you just grew exponentially,” Akaashi said. He ruffled her hair, and she let out a shocked squeak.

\-------------

Something inside Kuroo snapped when Oikawa dived. Kuroo Tetsurou had never seen anything as graceful yet hasty as that single dive. The raven-haired male never had an eye for aesthetics, never had a thing for slender grace or anything like that. Yeah, he liked Tsukishima from his junior high back in his third year there, got rejected and then never saw him again.

But Oikawa seemed different. He and Oikawa had always been close. Even if Kuroo liked the rough, tough, not-so-graceful, kind of lanky types, Oikawa only fit _one_ of those boxes (as much as his heart fluttered at the sight of those caramel eyes, Oikawa was the most cakeless dude he ever saw). Oikawa was gentle, vulnerable, graceful.

And Kuroo thought it was alright to hold his stare for longer, let his touches linger for a few seconds, make his hugs tighter. Oikawa should know, but Oikawa also _shouldn’t_ know. 

Kuroo’s insults also got sharper. 

Oikawa liked Kuroo. He caught on to it late. So very late.

At that party, Kuroo met an old friend of his, Daishou Suguru. Now, they weren’t exactly friends, more like rivals or something, but they were joking around and seemed pretty close. Daishou wanted to take pictures with the ‘pretty boy’ (Oikawa blushed and smiled because ‘pretty’ was a charming thing to say, why wasn’t Kuroo nicer) and Kuroo grabbed Daishou close and growled something into his ear. 

Oikawa heard a snippet- _“Get your sick hands off of him,”-_ and boy, was jealous Kuroo actually endearing?

Wait, why was he jealous?

“Kuroo,” Oikawa said, folding his arms and looking at him. He had followed Kuroo to the restroom and cornered him.

“Yeah?” Kuroo replied, folding his arms and looking back.

“Are you jealous?”

Kuroo coughed. “Jealous of who?”

“Daishou. Flirting,” Oikawa said. “With me.”

There was a siren wailing in Kuroo’s head. It screamed, “ _YOU’RE MOVING INTO DANGEROUS TERRITORY! BACK AWAY FROM THE SUBJECT!”_

“What? No,” Kuroo sniggered. Sniggering Kuroo was an awful type of Kuroo, apparently. He sounded like Heather Chandler when he said his next few lines. “Why would I be jealous of Suguru? There’s nothing to be jealous about. And especially not related to you.”

Kuroo dropped his arms harshly and stalked out of the bathroom.

  
God, why did that hurt so much?

Oh.

 _That_ was why.

\-------------

Kuroo and Oikawa went back and forth.

“Please,” Kuroo sniggered. (Again, sniggering Kuroo was a very, _very_ bad type of Kuroo, and made an appearance a lot more often nowadays.) “I don’t wanna be in the same frame as him,” he stuck a thumb out at Oikawa, who was playing it cool again.

“Yeah, and neither do I,” Oikawa replied, sticking his tongue out.

Sadly, Akaashi and Bokuto were used to this banter. What the couple wasn’t used to was Kuroo’s affected eyeroll after Oikawa’s reply.

“Akaaji,” Bokuto said, urgently. “Follow me.”

“Uh,” Akaashi looked at Bokuto. He sighed, weighing his options. Either leave Oikawa and Kuroo to go at it (whatever ‘it’ was) and go off with Bokuto, or stay and stare at damage he couldn’t fix. Akaashi loved fixing things. “Okay, Bokuto-san.”

“Akaaji, is it just me or is Kuroo being really rude to Oikawa?”  
“No, Bokuto-san, any idiot with half a brain would’ve picked it up.”

“So, uh, ‘Kaasee… Any idea why?”

“That,” Akaashi sighed. “I have no idea.”

When they got back, Kuroo was gone and Oikawa was staring at the ground defiantly.

“Fine,” he was muttering to himself. “He can leave, it’s fine. He’s dumb and has no idea what he’s doing…” Oikawa repeated this over and over again, eyes never leaving the tatami mats of Bokuto’s bedroom floor.

Akaashi bit back a groan. “Bokuto-san,” he whispered. “I think he’s broken.”

“Damn straight,” Bokuto agreed.

Kuroo and Oikawa fought a lot.

Kuroo was sick of Oikawa. He was tired of his constant teasing, of having to conceal how he felt, of everything that he was doing with Oikawa. He wanted the brunette out of his life, but at the same time, Kuroo would dream of spending the rest of his life with him.

God, what was he supposed to do?  
  


Oikawa was super fucking done. It was obvious that Kuroo did not like him romantically. Kuroo was being rude and Oikawa wondered if this was the real Kuroo or something. He was tired of dealing with the insults and playing it cool all the time. Yet Kuroo wasn’t someone he was getting over.

Damn, was this even normal?

The thing that still bound them together was the fact that they had fun in each other’s presence. They still laughed and joked, but all of a sudden one of them would turn sour and the entire thing would fall apart.

\-------------

Oikawa voiced his opinion.

  
“Ugh, no way,” Kuroo said.

“Kuroo, I… I haven’t even _said anything yet_!”

“Still, ew, no way.”

“Okay,” Oikawa said, throwing his bag to the floor. “I’m tired of this. I’m tired of you and our friendship and how toxic it is. I thought we were best friends, Kuroo, and I ask you one small, irrelevant question and now you hate me. I’m done. We are done. Kuroo, if you’re sick of me or you wanted me out of your life… Well, congratulations!”

Kuroo cornered him and gave him a piece of his mind.

“Oi, Oikawa Tooru! Just so you know, I was sick of you! You pissed me off! I was dumb,” Kuroo laughed bitterly. “So dumb. So very dumb. And how did I come to this conclusion? I trusted you to see who I am and stay. And here you are, leaving, so goodbye!”

Oikawa felt his eyes sting, that sick feeling that indicated he was going to bawl his eyes out. He turned around and ran away, forgetting his bag. Kuroo left it there as he trudged to a stall and slammed it shut, burying his head in his palm and wishing he wasn’t in so much pain at the moment.

3 weeks later, Oikawa tossed and turned in his bed. His alien-themed sheets felt too heavy, his pillow was too squishy on the sides and hard in the center, he could feel his feet sticking out from the bed and the mattress was lumpy. He ripped off his covers and padded to the bathroom, grabbing some random book off the dresser and sat on the closed toilet seat.

“Great,” he muttered to himself. “I picked _Chemistry_ at 3 in the morning.”

He opened the book anyway, because Chemistry was boring and probably would make him feel sleepier. The very first page was a mess, however, scrawled over with ballpoint pens. Oikawa could barely read out the words.

‘ _Crappykawa can’t keep a girlfriend lolol’_

_‘Seriously??’_

_‘Yeppppp’_

_‘OMG LMAO’_

_‘tEtsU-cHaN don’t lAuGh AT MEEEEEEE’_

_‘BAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA’_

_‘KIYO-TAN WHY WOULD YOU BRING THAT UP’_

_‘KIYOKO-SAN GOOD JOB :heartpulse:’_

He felt a pang in his chest, one that usually came when he felt especially lonely or homesick. He missed Kuroo. A lot.

Oikawa Tooru made his decision.

** tetsubro **

_heyoo tetsu-chan_

_i wanted to talk to you!!_

_pls can we meet up later tmr?_

_hi, oikawa._

_yeah, okay._

_we can meet up after school._

_o_

_okay ty tetsu!! gn_

_good night, oikawa._

‘Oikawa’? That was weird. And ‘proper usage of punctuation’ and ‘Kuroo Tetsurou’ were never meant to be in the same sentence.

The next day, Kuroo bailed on him.

** tetsubro **

_sorry, oikawa, i had to deal with something._

_can you mention your thing over text?_

_sure tetsu-chan_

_np_

_um_

_i was wondering if there was any chance we could be friends again_

_?_

_oh, i see._

_sure._

_we can be friends again._

Oikawa and Kuroo were not friends again. Oikawa texted him the next week.

** tetsubro **

_yo tetsu_

_you said we were friends again?_

_but youre still ignoring me_ _😔_

_im sorry if i did sumn wrong!_

_nothing’s wrong, oikawa. i’m just a bit busy._

_i have to start applying for colleges now._

_oh right!!_

_good luck~!_

_which college?_

_thank you, you too._

_i’m going to… uh…_

_places._

_lmao i know that_

_which places?_

_places._

_oh…_

_okay!! gl with ur places hehehehe_

_lol._

_bye, oikawa. we’ll talk later._

** tetsubro **

_ik ur busy, tetsu, so i didn’t want to bring this up_

_but i do be curious doe_

_last month you told me we’ll talk later_

_you’ve been ignoring my waves and ‘hi’s and things_

_and you haven’t checked our chat since that day_

_and its just my chat,, makki, mattsun, kiyo-tan, kou-chan, aka-chan and yacchan all said you were really active_

_so um_

_tetsu-chan if u don’t wanna talk, just tell me please!_

_oh, hello, oikawa._

_no, i do want to talk to you._

(tetsubro is typing…)

_uM tetsu you typed something for 10 mins and then you stopped typing??_

_ah, i thought that would happen. you see, oikawa, my messenger has been glitching, so i was not really typing. and i have been checking our texts but you seemed very, um, hover-y so i decided to not text you. i haven’t seen you greet me at school, though, so i will keep an eye out for that!_

_i have to go now._

_bye, oikawa, i’ll see you tomorrow._

Kuroo did not see Oikawa tomorrow. Oikawa was on the verge of giving up.

** tetsubro **

(toorup is typing…)

_hello, oikawa._

_you’ve been typing for quite a bit. is something up?_

_hey tetsu_

_i’ve been asking you if we could act like civilized people for over two months_

_you say yes and we hold the act for half an hour and then the next day we drop it_

_like seriously its getting really exhausting im so sorry but i cant do this anymore_

_i just want the truth tetsu!!_

_why do you ignore my texts?_

_why do you ignore me?_

_do you not want to be my friend?_

_at least lmk pls 😔_

_oikawa, do you really want the truth?_

_yes pLEASe_

_oikawa, i like you._

_like, i’ve been crushing on you since way before that party where_

_daishou flirted with you. since the mega-elephant toothpaste explosion._

_the one where we got suspended to work on performing at the party._

_yeah, i didn’t want you to know. i didn’t want our friendship to end. so, i_

_covered it up with all these mean jabs and insults, and i’m sorry._

_either way, it looks like our friendship is gone for good, because i just_

_don’t want to be “just friends” with you. i want something more, but_

_you don’t like me back, so i guess we’re stuck being “just friends”._

_but i can’t do that to myself. oikawa, if you don’t return my feelings,_

_give me some time to get over you._

_wait rlly_

_you rlly rlly like me!?_

_bc_

_dude_

_im whipped for you too!!_

_i shouldn’t be calling you dude now lol_

_i like you toooooo_

_im sorry our friendship crashed like that_

_but now we’re back!!_

_tetsu and tooru, dream couple_ _😊_

_CALL ME RIGHT NOW, FOR FUCK’S_

_SAKE._

Oikawa felt like a 13-year-old calling their crush for the first time. You know, cliché butterflies and all that goopy shit. His palms were sweaty as he dialed Kuroo’s number, and the boy picked up on the second ring like he always does.

“T-Tetsu?” Oikawa called out, hesitantly, hating the way it came out as a question.

“Tooru…” Kuroo breathed back. “Tooru, hey.”

“Hey yourself,” Oikawa said. “I missed you.”

“Not as much as I did,” Kuroo declared, confidently.

“Probably not,” Oikawa agreed. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I missed you.”

“Yeah…”

“Tetsu?”

“Yes?”

“Wha… What are we now?”

“Whaddya mean, Tooru?” Kuroo sounded alarmed, almost, and Oikawa felt really bad for freaking him out like that.

“I mean, are we friends? Boyfriends?”

“As much as I like you, Tooru,” Kuroo began. “As much as I darn near love you, I don’t think we should get into a relationship right now. We’re stressed, you have your dance school graduation and college application. None of my applications are going through. We’re stressed, and if we end because we took our stress out on each other…”

“I agree, Tetsu,” Oikawa replied, amicably. “I would be heartbroken, and so would you.”

“Our first potential-something-argument and we handled it well! When we’re ready, Tooru, we’ll be a power couple.”

“Fuck yes.”

“I gotta go now, Tooru,” Kuroo said.

“Yeah, me too.”

“I’ll call you later, though,” Kuroo reassured. “I promise.”

Tooru giggled giddily. “Sure! Bye, Tetsu.”

“Bye~!”

\-------------

The prospect of moving to college loomed over Oikawa’s head like his very own personal raincloud, complete with freezing cold raindrops, lightning and thunder more deafening than Bokuto’s hooting when he was drunk on grape juice.

Especially because _none of them_ were going to the same college. Oikawa was the only person packing his bags and moving up, like, 3 prefectures to Tokyo. The others were staying in Miyagi or going to Hokkaido or Osaka, and Yachi had actually applied to a college in Hyogo.

Kuroo was going to Osaka, mostly. A lot of his college applications had been sent to colleges in the prefecture, because his grandparents lived there.

Him and Kuroo sat down on the rusted swings in the playground behind their high school a day after graduation, kicking half-heartedly at the sand that was dotted with depressing grass.

Oikawa gripped the chain harder when he heard the jangle of Kuroo getting up. For some reason, he was tearing up.

Long-distance relationships nearly never worked out, and he was 200% banking on him and Kuroo at least getting together for a bit after they got accepted into colleges.

Oikawa had received his letter long ago, saying that the liberal arts college was delighted to have him as a student. As Bokuto had put it, so very eloquently, he was _the Oikawa fucking Tooru._ (“The man’s the shit,” Bokuto had added, his face stuffed with yakisoba. He gulped, before continuing. “No kidding.”)

Warm, large arms not-so-gently plopped onto his knees, and Oikawa turned his eyes to the side, not wanting to look at Kuroo who was staring up at him in a way that made him want to smash their lips together.

“Tooru-chan,” Kuroo said. “Look at me.”  
Oikawa shook his head.

“Fine, don’t look at me,” Kuroo snickered. “I’ve got really exciting news, though, and it’s not like I won’t tell you whether you lock eyes with me or not.”

Oikawa sniffed in response.

“I’m going to the same liberal arts college as you!”

The world ran in slow motion as Oikawa’s eyes lit up, and he leaped off the swing and wrapped his arms around Kuroo tightly.

“Not just that,” Kuroo choked out, struggling to stop the swing from hitting them both and giving them a concussion. “But Makki, Mattsun and Yachi are also going there!”

Oikawa kissed him. It was quick, short, not really sweet, seeing as it was salty from Oikawa’s tears and Kuroo’s lips were super chapped, but hey, it’s the thought that counts. It felt nice.

Kuroo looked at Oikawa when he pulled away. “Babe,” he whispered. “I am never calling you that.”

\-------------

Kuroo dropped his fifth cardboard box onto the floor of his two-bedroom dorm.

“That’s the last of them,” he told the watchman, who gave him a weak smile. “Thank you for your help.”

Kuroo stretched his arms before kneeling down and getting to work. Surprisingly, Oikawa and him decided not to share a dorm together, for a multitude of reasons, but the main issue was Oikawa got up at the times Kuroo went to bed. Oikawa took at least an hour to workout and another hour to get ready and slept at 9, but Kuroo thrived on coffee and paper and was practically nocturnal.

So, Kuroo and Oikawa took dorms opposite each other, and decided that they would make new friends and live with them.

Kuroo sighed after putting the contents of box 3 in his cupboard- all his shoes, coats, jeans, suits and lab clothing. He got up and opened the door, only to see _Bokuto Koutaro with his hair down, dressed in a hoodie, ripped jeans and carrying three humongous suitcases and a violin case._

“B-Bo?!”

“Ay, Kuroo, my man!”

“Are you in this college too?!”

“Yeah, and Akaashi’s here too! He moved into that dorm,” Bokuto stuck his thumb out to the door behind them.

“Akaashi’s rooming with Oikawa,” Kuroo said.

“No way! Yachi, Kiyoko, Makki and Mattsun are here, right?”

“Really, Kiyoko’s here too?”

“Mhm,” Bokuto replied. “Can I come in now? Its freezing!”

“Ah, yes, sure,” Kuroo said, stepping to the side to let his ‘broski’ in.

  
“Hello, Oikawa-san,” Akaashi greeted, hovering near the door awkwardly. Oikawa was standing in front of his open closet, pouting, deep in thought about pairing his Seijoh-themed legwarmers with his Seijoh-themed sweater or his white one.

“Ah, Aka-chan, hi,” Oikawa replied, absent-mindedly. His eyes widened as he turned to face the boy. “Aka-chan?!”

Akaashi chuckled as he dropped his bag. “Bokuto-san is rooming with Kuroo-san. Yacchan and Kiyoko-san are rooming together. And of course, Hanamaki-san and Matsukawa-san are sharing a dorm. Essentially, we’re all here,” he informed, smiling.

“Courses,” Oikawa said, pointing to the whiteboard he set up in the common room.

“Uh, British literature, American literature, Shakespeare, poetry, fiction writing and creative writing,” Akaashi replied. “And an art minor.”

“Morning or night?”

“Morning.”

“Great, me too!”

“Phew. Bokuto-san is,” Akaashi struggled to find a word. “Nocturnal. He sleeps till 2 PM, plays the violin from 12 to 4 AM, and goes to his classes at 3 PM. I never get any sleep, so we decided to room alone.”

“Ugh,” Oikawa agreed. “Same. Tetsu’s got caffeine cells in his blood at this point.”

At lunch-time (which Bokuto and Kuroo missed because they were playing Super Mario Maker), Oikawa bumped into an old friend of his.

“Oikawa Tooru.”

“Ushiwaka-chan!” Oikawa grinned, excitedly. “You’re here too?”

“Yes, I am. This college has an esteemed agricultural-technology course.”

“Ah, still the same stoic stone. Who’s the ginger?” Oikawa chuckled, before pointing to an extremely tall, skinny redhead who was leaning on Ushijima, hands around his waist.

“This is my boyfriend, Tendou Satori,” Ushijima said. “He is a chocolatier-in-training.”

“Congratulations! Make me some chocolates, Riri,” Oikawa winked.

Tendou laughed normally (it sounded slightly hysterical) before nodding. “I’ll make sure they have the ugly cherry-filled center.”

“Riri, how mean!”

Meanwhile, in Bokuto and Kuroo’s dorm, Kuroo groaned and swore loudly.

“Fuck! That _bitch_!” Bokuto screeched, passionately. “I’ll fucking stab its parents, I’m done!”

“I’ll second that- No, no, no, NO-!”

“I’m rage-quitting!”

“Me too!” Kuroo shoved his console on the futon and crossed his arms, pouting at the screen. Bokuto’s hair had deflated rapidly and was now flopping around his face wildly.

The doorbell rang, and Kuroo flopped back on the futon, wincing as he hit the console. Bokuto got up and opened the door.

“Ah, hello, I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi and this is my roommate, Tsukishima Kei…” Kuroo’s eyes widened at the familiar name and he got up, hesitantly walking towards the door.

“…We’re here to give everyone on this floor some homemade dango, in order to wish for good friendships…”

Kuroo stared at Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. They looked perfect together, Yamaguchi slightly shorter than Tsukishima and the blonde with a protective arm around his waist. Yamaguchi was smiling like an angel and Tsukishima was bland and expressionless.

Yamaguchi had choppy greenish-brown hair that was pulled into a messy half-bun, with freckles dotting his cheeks and a cartilage piercing with a star on his left ear, and a silver tongue piercing. Tsukishima, on the other hand, had short blond hair with bangs, a pair of black glasses and a cartilage piercing with a moon on his right ear.

“…I hope you accept our hand in friendship, and we’ll see you around sometime!” Yamaguchi finished, grinning. He nudged Tsukishima, who barely smiled in response.

“Tsukki isn’t very friendly, ain’t he,” Bokuto chuckled, accepting the chocolates and inviting the duo in, who politely declined the offer. “Kuroo! Come meet Tsukki and Yama!”

Kuroo bowed to Yamaguchi, awkwardly staring at Tsukishima, who looked revolted. Bokuto laughed and went to rummage for some food item to give in return.

“Tsukishima Kei,” Kuroo cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you again.”

“Again?” Bokuto and Yamaguchi asked aloud. “That’s unexpected.”

“Yeah, we were friends in junior high,” Tsukishima clarified. “I guess.”

“Well, we better get going,” Yamaguchi mentioned, sheepishly. “We’ll see you soon! Bye, Kuroo-san, Bokuto-san!”

“Bye!” Bokuto said, more than enthusiastic. Kuroo held up a weak-looking peace sign. God, where was Oikawa when you needed him?

\-------------

Oikawa, Ushijima, Tendou, Akaashi, Bokuto, Matsukawa, Hanamaki and Kuroo were sitting in the common room of the hall. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were poring over a stack of books in the corner of the room. Kiyoko and Yachi were looking at an aesthetic Pinterest board whilst getting some snacks from a vending machine. A group of four other boys barged into the room, one of them chattering wildly.

The hyperactive, talkative boy had fluffy orange hair and cheeks that were dusted with pink. He wore braces and was yammering away to a barely taller boy, with long, pudding-themed hair that was scraped back into a bun who was holding a Gameboy. Behind them, an average-height, muscular man with sea-green eyes and spiky black hair was scrolling through his phone with his Airpods in, holding hands with a tall, pale-skinned raven with sapphire eyes, hidden behind thick glasses.

Kuroo snapped his eyes off of Oikawa, who was sitting opposite him, to look at the boys who were making their way to their table.

“Can we sit here?” Airpods-guy asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Matsukawa said, patting the seat next to him. Airpods and Glasses sat down, Glasses promptly pulling out a computer and a mouse and Airpods ordering coffees for both of them.

“Oi, you both can come here too,” Hanamaki called out to Braces and Pudding.

“So can Tsukki and Yama,” Bokuto yelled, making Tsukishima jump out of his seat in shock.

“Kiyo-tan and Yacchan can sit too,” Oikawa said, tapping his lip with the back of his pencil. “We can all get to know each other.”

Airpods gave him a boyish, lopsided smile. “Sure.”

Braces gave the whole table a smile that rivaled the sun. “Thank you!” He sat down and pulled Pudding down with him.

Once the entire table was seated, they began making introductions, starting from Oikawa.

“Oikawa Tooru, 19, majoring in dance.”  
“Ushijima Wakatoshi, 19, majoring in agricultural technology.”  
“Tendou Satori, 19, chocolatier-in-training, baby!”  
“Tsukishima Kei, 18, majoring in biotechnology.”  
“Yamaguchi Tadashi, 18, majoring in biotechnology with Tsukki!”  
“Akaashi Keiji, 18, majoring in literature.”  
“Hey, hey, hey, Bokuto Koutarou, 19, violinst!”  
“Kuroo Tetsurou, 19, majoring in chemistry.”  
“Hanamaki Takahiro, 19, cell biology.”  
“Matsukawa Issei, 19, molecular biology.”  
“Iwaizumi Hajime, 19, majoring in photography and studio arts.”  
“Kageyama Tobio, 18, dance.”  
“Yachi Hitoka, 18, majoring in graphic d-d-design!”  
“Kiyoko Shimizu, 19, astronomy.”  
“Hinata Shouyou, guitarist! Oh, and I’m 18.”  
“Kozume, 18, animation.”

“We’re apparently the residents of the Furudate hall,” Tsukishima said. “I’m going to go through hell. All of you seem difficult, except for Iwaizumi-san.”

“Ha, is that a compliment or an insult, Tsukishima-kun?”

“Not sure. Pick your poison.”

“Compliment, please,” Iwaizumi turned the the rest of the table. “All of you, _suffer_.”

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa pouted. “Rude!”  
Iwaizumi choked at the nickname. Oh, dear God, this was going to be hell. “Don’t call me that, Shittykawa.”  
“SHITTYKAWA!?” The Seijoh gang said, both gleeful and surprised. “That’s what we all called him, aside from Loserkawa and Crappykawa.”

“Also, Flattykawa. Because he’s flat,” Kuroo mentioned, helpfully. “But you aren’t allowed to insult him like that, because he’s mine.”

Oikawa might’ve internally screeched. What a _man._

“I’m going on a date with Tooru,” Kuroo said, later. “Heading to Ukai’s Bar.”  
Bokuto looked up from his music sheets. “Okay, cool.”

Kuroo slipped on his sneakers and adjusted his outfit for the day- a red t-shirt, a black leather jacket and skinny jeans. This was his first date with Oikawa since they moved to college, and since both of them didn’t really like overdone sappy stuff, they decided on the local bar and maybe a make-out session.

He knocked on Oikawa’s door and Akaashi opened it, looking extremely tired. His usual steel-blue eyes were dimmed, there were bags under his eyes that stood out starkly against his pale skin, his cheeks were flushed and he was clutching on the doorframe, barely able to stand up straight.

“Kuroo-san,” Akaashi said, voice thick and tight. He swayed slightly, rubbing at his eyes.  
“Woah, Akaashi,” Kuroo said, concerned, holding on to Akaashi to steady him. “You okay?”  
“Barely,” the shorter male replied, honestly. “Don’t tell Bokuto-san…”  
“You want me to tell Bo?” Kuroo said, smirking slightly. “Okay.”  
“Kuroo-,” Akaashi protested.  
“OI, BOKUTO,” Kuroo yelled, turning away from Akaashi. “C’MERE!”

Heavy footsteps thudded towards them. Bokuto was wearing his dorky round reading glasses with his hair down, which contrasted heavily with his sweatpants-only look. “Yeah, Ku-,” he stopped midway, eyes widening in fear. “Akaaji?! Oh my god, are you alright?”  
“Bokuto-san…” Kuroo dropped Akaashi off with Bokuto, who picked him up and carried him into their dorm, shutting the door with his foot.

“I’m coming in, Tooru,” Kuroo said, stepping inside the dorm and shutting the door.  
“Tetsu!” Oikawa cried out, happily. “How do I look?”

Oikawa twirled gracefully, showing off his lavender shirt and ripped black jeans. His hair was freshly washed and blow-dried, making it extra fluffy, and there was a tint of gloss on his lips.

“Stunning,” Kuroo replied, grinning like some sort of flirty hyena. Oikawa giggled, tying up his lavender Converse high-tops.

“Let’s go!” He intertwined his and Kuroo’s fingers and left the dorm, locking it as he left.

They walked to Ukai’s Bar, talking about their classes (Oikawa was gushing about the upcoming performance that the dance majors had, Kuroo ranted about how Chemistry was kicking his ass) and about the other residents of Furudate hall.

“I heard a secret somewhere,” Oikawa said, absentmindedly.  
“Hm?”  
“Well, I overheard Tobio-chan and Iwa-chan talking about Furudate hall, and Iwa-chan said that all the queer kids were shoved into it almost every year.”  
“Oh, really? That might just be a coincidence.”  
“Yes, I thought so too! But they were having such a heartfelt conversation about this, so I continued flipping through the stage-tech manuals whilst listening to them. And Tobio-chan was all surprised and asked why, and then Iwa-chan was like, ‘there’s a reason.’”  
Kuroo looked intrigued. “Keep going.”  
“The reason is that sometimes the straight girls harass the LGBT kids, or at parties, other hall residents sexually abuse some of the queer residents and there were a lot of homophobic and heterophobic slurs being thrown around. So, they decided ‘okay, I’ve had enough of this fuckery’ and made a new hall specifically for LGBT members.”

That sparked a rather interesting conversation between the two, and continued all the way till Ukai’s, and only stopped after Kuroo downed a beer and Oikawa got 3 tequila shots.

After getting some more drinks, the duo went to a corner table and sat awfully close to each other. Kuroo’s thigh was warm against Oikawa’s, an arm slung lazily over his shoulders.

“Wanna make out?” Kuroo whispered, slurring his words.  
Oikawa finished the last of his bourbon and held Kuroo’s face in his hands before connecting their lips in a heated, messy kiss.

20 minutes later, they were paying the bill. Kuroo was getting a bit uncomfortable in _certain areas_ , and Oikawa was already up and out of the door. The couple ended up taking a quick route through a few back alleys to get back home.

Kuroo checked his phone as they walked up the stairs, replying to a few frantic texts from Bokuto.

** koutabro **

_bro  
bro  
bro  
bro  
kaashi is exhausted  
but he’s horny  
so like where are the supplies  
bro  
bro  
bro  
i gotta be gentle  
kUROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

_haffun_ _😉_ _  
supplies are in the tv cabinet  
vanilla’s alright?_

_yes perfect thank you bye_

Meanwhile, _Oikawa_ was frantically texting Akaashi.

****

** suffering **

****

_aka-chaaaaaaaaaan  
i wanna get it on with tetsu today  
where do u keep the lube u said u have it in case anything happens  
oh and pRoTeCtIOn_

_skdlajdsalksjdkasdamsddsad lit rally we’re both getting it tonight  
my stuff is in that brown box above the fridge labelled ‘compost’ so that nobody takes it  
this is a one-time thing bitch get ur own later_

_kk thanks ur gonna help me buy it tho 😤_

_ya ya sure bye_

Oikawa unlocked his door, yanked Kuroo inside, and shut and locked the door again. He reached out for the box on the fridge and then ripped off his shirt and threw it to the floor.

“Kiss me,” he demanded, taking off his shoes and shoving Kuroo’s jacket down. “Now, Tetsu, please.”

Kuroo wrapped his hands around Oikawa’s waist and kissed him deeply, walking towards Oikawa’s room and closing that door as well, before dropping down on the bed and taking off his shirt.

5 months in, and the college was already handing out papers. Kuroo and Oikawa’s relationship was starting to get a bit messy because of Ushijima.

Kuroo flung his Chemistry revision binder on his bed and dropped to the floor. He lay sprawled out on the carpet, and when Bokuto walked in, he lay down too.

“Something wrong, bro?” Bokuto asked, worried.  
“Yeah. I hate Ushijima. He annoys me.”  
“The guy who talks to flowers with the other guy who looks like Jesus?”  
“Yeah, him.”  
“Why?”  
“I think he’s stealing my boyfriend.”

Bokuto propped himself up with one hand. “What? No,” the owl-like boy replied. “Nah.”  
“Have you seen them?” Kuroo retorted, glaring at his best friend. “Oikawa’s stopped talking to me as much, and he keeps hugging Ushijima, and talking and laughing with him, and all our texts are ‘Ushiwaka this’ and ‘Ushiwaka that’,” Kuroo ranted, angrily. “I’m sick and tired of Ushijima! I mean, I get it, the dude’s a bit lonely ever since Tendou went to Paris for the rest of his chocolatier thing, but like, _argh_!”

Bokuto nodded, a bit lost. “I feel you. Wait, who’s Tendou again?”  
“You, but like, a Satanic version of you,” Kuroo replied, sighing. Bokuto didn’t respond to that, slightly afraid of this ‘Tendou’. Satanic owl-watching sure as hell wasn’t on his bucket list. But did Ushiwaka have a thing for satanic owls? Seeing as he was dating one? Hey, wait, Akaashi had a thing for normal owls-

“Bo, you’re spacing out again,” Kuroo grumbled. “Snap out of it!”  
“Ah, sorry.” Bokuto thought about it for a moment. “Do you think Oikawa’s cheating on you?” He asked Kuroo, bluntly.

Kuroo bit his lip. Oikawa would never do something as sleazy as that… Right?

\-------------

Kuroo received some bad news from home that week. His mother, a famous police officer, was involved in a gang shooting in Osaka, and was currently hanging on to her life by a thin thread.  
He saw Oikawa and Ushijima leaving Furudate hall for drinks, giggling hysterically.  
His first semester finals were coming up and he needed to pass this if he wanted to continue studying chemistry.

Kuroo’s life, in short, was falling apart.

Bokuto was playing the violin at 4 AM when the phone call came. Specifically, to Kuroo’s phone, his father was calling him. Bokuto was midway through the most difficult piece he had ever played when Kuroo’s father called again. That was when the violinist realized that this could be serious.

“Hello, Kuroo-san?” Bokuto said, picking up. “It’s Koutarou here.”  
“Oh, Bokuto-kun,” Kuroo’s father replied. “How are you?”  
“I’m alright, Kuroo-san. Do you want me to give the phone to Tetsurou?”  
“Yes, thank you. It’s urgent.”  
“Okay, Kuroo-san, hold on for a minute.” Bokuto pulled the phone away from his ear and padded over to where Kuroo was studying chemical reactions. “Kuroo,” he whispered.

Kuroo turned around in his desk chair, eyes wide as he saw Bokuto’s concerned expression and his phone in his hand. “Yeah?”

“It’s your dad.”

Kuroo’s face fell.

“Dad?” Indistinguishable static came over the phone. Bokuto held on to the hem of his pajama shirt.  
“Can I put you on speaker?” More static. “Okay.”

Kuroo put the call on speaker and Bokuto sat on the beanbag next to him.

“Tetsurou, it’s about mum,” Kuroo’s dad began. “She had a heart attack fifteen minutes ago. They’re working on saving her life, but they found issues with her heart and lungs, so she’s going into surgery within the next hour. I need you to come to Osaka, immediately.”

Kuroo and Bokuto stood up, Bokuto already flitting about and grabbing backpacks and snacks from the fridge as Kuroo closed all his study material.

“Can Bokuto come as well?” Kuroo asked, quietly.  
“Yes, sure,” his father replied. “Hurry and come here soon.”

Kuroo picked up his Chemical equations and reactions binder and placed it in his backpack when Bokuto took it out. Kuroo glared at him.

“No,” Bokuto replied, sternly. “You won’t be able to concentrate, and that would do more harm than good.”

Kuroo sighed, he hated it when Bokuto’s braincell starting working, mostly because it was right.

On the train, Bokuto gave Kuroo an energy drink to keep him up, and shared his music with him. Kuroo never felt more grateful for a friend.

The train was pulling into Osaka’s station when Kuroo’s phone rang again, this time from an unknown number. They stared at it.

“You pick it up,” Bokuto said.  
“Bo, please, you pick it up.”  
Bokuto huffed.

“Hello, this is Kuroo Tetsurou’s phone,” Bokuto said, getting off the train and handing his phone over to Kuroo to book them a taxi.

_“This is Dr Taiji from cardiothoracics speaking, is Kuroo-kun there? I was his mother’s doctor.”_

Bokuto’s heart sunk and his stomach twisted.

“Yes, yes, of course, I’ll give it to him.” He handed the phone to Kuroo who looked up in surprise. Bokuto turned his face away from him.

“Hello?” Kuroo greeted, tentatively.

_“Kuroo-kun, I’m Dr Taiji from cardiothoracics. I’d like to have a word with you.”_

“Yes, Dr Taiji?”

_“Kuroo-kun, I’m so sorry for your loss.”_

Kuroo’s world stopped turning. He dropped his phone and rushed into the nearest bathroom. Bokuto picked the phone from the ground and put it to his ear.

“Hello, Dr Taiji, I’m Kuroo’s friend,” Bokuto said, lifelessly. “Thank you for informing us.”

_“Kuroo-kun’s friend? Are you Bokuto-kun?”_

“Yes, I am?”

_“Bokuto-kun, please take Kuroo-kun to his grandparents’ house in Osaka. His mother is being transported there.”_

“Oh,” Bokuto replied, simply. He was too shocked to take responsibility because he grew up in Kuroo’s house, but here he was, with his braincell working. “Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you.”

 _“You’re a good friend, Bokuto-kun. Once again, I’m sorry for your loss._ ”

“Thank you, Dr Taiji.” He cut the call and was about to go find Kuroo when a high-pitched screech ripped through the air.

“Kuroo?” Bokuto called out in fear. The people on Osaka’s station stopped short and stared at the bathroom. Another agonized wail. Bokuto’s eyes widened.

“ _Kuroo!_ ” Bokuto pushed through the crowd that was threatening to start spilling into the bathroom, nudging people until he was in front of the crowd, blocking the bathroom’s door.

“Everyone,” he yelled at the crowd, spreading his arms wide so nobody could enter. “My name is Bokuto Koutarou. Inside this bathroom, my friend is mourning! His mother just passed away,” he gulped, terrified, but continued. For the Kuroo-san in the sky, for the Kuroo-san in Osaka, for the Kuroo-san currently screaming in the bathroom in anguish. “I request you all to not enter this bathroom while I deal with him! I don’t know how long it will take, and I won’t tell you I will hurry it up, because that would be a lie. But please, help another human out! I beg of you!” He bowed 90 degrees, and then fell to the ground. “Please!”

The crowd, staring at the owl-like boy with spiky hair and golden eyes, began to disperse, talking among themselves softly. Bokuto remained on the ground, trembling as another shriek pierced through the air.

A janitor winced as he placed his hand on Bokuto’s shoulder. “Go take care of your friend,” he said, sympathetically. “I’ll bar the bathroom.”  
Bokuto’s eyes filled with tears of gratitude. “Thank you!”

He got up and ran into the bathroom, seeing Kuroo sitting on his feet, hunkered over and staring at the floor.

“Kuroo?” Bokuto said, gently. He screamed in response, making the violinist flinch.

_Mummy. Okaa-san. Inspector Kuroo Tsukasa.  
Dead. Lifeless. Shot by a mentally instable twit.  
My mother is dead. She’s gone. Dead. I’m so lost without her. I miss her. I thought she’d never die. I thought she’d live forever. She’s so strong, so resilient. She’s loving. She’s kind. She’s dead, somehow.  
How are you dead?  
How are you dead, mum?  
How?  
Answer me!  
You are not supposed to die now!  
Mum!  
Mum, please!  
Answer me!  
Please… Please!_

Kuroo wailed again, chest heaving as his hands curled into tight, hot fists. His legs shook, his face was scrunched up in pain, tears were streaming down his face.

_How dare you, mum?!  
How dare you do this to me?  
How can you die at 47 and leave me and dad here to fend for ourselves?!  
How dare you hurt me like this, mum?!  
How?  
HOW?!  
Answer me, mum!  
Answer me!_

“Kuroo, please,” Bokuto tried again, kneeling down on the floor and trying to place a hand on Kuroo. But Kuroo wasn’t going to have that, no, he swatted Bokuto’s hand away and punched out aimlessly, eyes not leaving the ground.

“Kuroo,” Bokuto said, louder this time. “Kuroo.”

“KUROO!” Bokuto yelled.

The raven-haired boy’s head snapped up; eyes glazed over in fear as he looked around. Bokuto wrapped his arms around him and held him close. “Calm down, Kuroo… Relax.”

Kuroo’s body fell limp as he sobbed against Bokuto, who was on the verge of tears seeing his brother like this.

“We’re here,” Bokuto announced, dully, dragging an exhausted Kuroo through the hallway to the main room. The tatami mats were hard on their feet, the house had an air of quiet. It wasn’t energetic, the atmosphere was thick with grief.

“Tetsurou-kun,” the maid greeted. “And Bokuto-kun,” she took their backpacks off their shoulders, allowing them to relax. “She’s in the main room.”

Bokuto nodded, following Kuroo to the room. His feet were heavy with dread, his eyes were laced with tears. Kuroo gingerly stepped into the main room, where his mother lay on top of ice, dressed in traditional Japanese funeral clothes.

“Mum,” he whispered, kneeling down next to her, placing a hand on her hair. “Oh, mum.”

Bokuto’s tears finally spilled, turning his head to place it on Kuroo’s father’s shoulder, and the older male held his arm comfortingly. They heard Kuroo’s grandparents curl into each other, Tsukasa’s mother saying, “a mother should never cremate her child.”

Kuroo’s eyes were gentle, glazed over as he stared fondly at his mother, stroking her thick, black hair with tenderness even he didn’t know existed. He whispered her name again.

Nobody dared interrupt Tetsurou and Tsukasa’s final moments with each other.

“Tooru, pick up,” Kuroo sighed, pacing around the guest room in his grandparents’ house. Bokuto was currently in the shower, most likely crying.

_“Tetsu?”_

“Tooru, thank god,” Kuroo breathed out.

_“Tetsu, are you okay? Akaashi told me you and Bokuto had to leave in a hurry. Is something wrong?”_

Kuroo groaned. “My mother’s dead.”

_“I’m sorry, what?”_

“I said, my mother is dead.”

 _“Tetsu, I… I’m speechless. I’m so sorry for your loss. She was an iconic queen,”_ – a statement that made Kuroo chuckle because of _course_ Oikawa would call her that-, _“Do you need me to come to Osaka? Where are you staying? Give me the address. I’ll start packing now.”_

“Don’t, Tooru. It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

 _“Please, let me help you! I need to be able to do something!”_ Oikawa was begging now.

“You can help. You need to water the plants in my room, inform my teachers, make sure nobody’s throwing parties in the dorm,” Kuroo paused for air.

_“Okay, I get it. Kou-chan is staying with you?”_

“Yeah, he is. If you can, make sure you inform his teachers too.”

_“Akaashi already did that.”_

Bokuto stepped out of the shower, hair still wet. “Go on, Kuroo, it’s like 10 in the morning and it would do you good.”

Kuroo clicked his tongue like a disapproving mother hen. “Alright, alright. Hey, Tooru, please do the things I asked you to do.”

_“I will, don’t worry, Tetsu. Take time to process. I love you, I’m here for you.”_

“Thanks… I love you too.”

\-------------

The train pulled into Tokyo station at 4 AM, four days after Kuroo’s mother was cremated. He stepped out of the train and onto the platform, backpack and heart heavy with new things to lug around. Bokuto trailed behind him, one hand holding his backpack straps and the other shoved deep in his pocket.

Oikawa was sitting on a bench outside the station, tapping his foot impatiently, whilst Akaashi was biting his nails. When the two men emerged, Akaashi flew out of his seat and captured them in a bone-crushing hug, Oikawa rushing towards Kuroo and holding his hand tight.

Akaashi looked at Kuroo sympathetically, Kuroo nodded in response. Bokuto wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and lifted him off the pavement slightly.

Kuroo walked away from the couple, Oikawa following him.

“Tetsurou,” Oikawa said, softly. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Kuroo replied, lifelessly.

“How are you?”

“Alright.”

Oikawa scrubbed at his face, frustrated. The air was heavy with unspoken words. Oikawa knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with Kuroo until Kuroo fucking talked.

“Talk to me, Tetsu.”

“There’s a lot I want to say.”

“Then say it!” Oikawa felt like he was finally getting through these walls that had created a painful divide between them.

“I need a break,” Kuroo said, voice stable.

“What in the ever-loving…?” Oikawa’s voice trailed off as he realized what he was saying.

“I think we need to see other people,” Kuroo began walking away, staring at the rising sun, ignoring the dull pain that throbbed with each beat of his heart. “I’m sorry, but this is goodbye, Oikawa.”

Oikawa stared as Kuroo boarded a bus back to college. He turned around, looking at Bokuto and Akaashi, who were unintentionally tantalizing him, and he felt his heart break into two.

“Akaashi,” he whispered. The raven craned his neck to look at Oikawa, who was standing a foot away from him, the sun behind him giving him an ethereal halo.

Sun-kissed cheeks, honey-coloured hair, auburn eyes and rainbow tears making their way down his face, Oikawa was wide-eyed, staring blankly at Akaashi.

The younger male wrenched himself out of his boyfriend’s embrace, going over to Oikawa in shock.

“Tooru-san?” He asked, placing a hand on Oikawa’s tensed shoulder. Bokuto was standing in his spot, eyebrow raised in concern.

Oikawa opened his mouth, trying to form words, but failing. Akaashi pressed his fingers against his rigid muscle, comfortingly massaging it. “Where’s Kuroo-san?” Akaashi questioned.

“He left me,” came the pathetic bleat. “We’re broken up.”

Bokuto gasped and Akaashi choked as they stared at the tears were making their way down his face like waterfalls, his heart was aching, there was so many things going on at once, so much stimuli, but Oikawa could only focus on one feeling.

Of all the things a man who was just dumped could feel, why did he feel relieved?

Oikawa couldn’t sleep. Everything that could be wrong with his bed was wrong, and it felt like he was in high school all over again. He got up and stretched, joints cracking, making sure he wouldn’t disturb Akaashi, who was curled up to one side of his bed, glasses lopsidedly placed on his face, book covering his head.

He smiled at the sight of his stupid roommate, and with a fond sigh, removed the younger’s glasses and book, placing them properly on his nightstand. Akaashi stirred with a whine, and Oikawa shushed him and tucked him in properly before walking out of the bedroom.

He took out some random leftover food and dried seaweed and sunk down on the couch, grabbing his chopsticks and muttering a thanks, before wondering why he felt lightheaded and slightly drunk.

Oh.

Kuroo broke up with him.

Curiosity bubbled in his chest, and with a sigh, he finished his food and went to the door, grabbed his coat and shoes and walked out of the hall.

It was his off day, there were no leg-lifts or arm exercises to do today, so he went to the library, checking in and noticing that it was empty.

Everyone was at class, so he grabbed a Toradora! volume and sat down at a table, cracking open the comic when he noticed lethargic footsteps coming from his right side.

There was someone else in the library, apparently. And that someone just tapped his shoulder.

He looked up and there that someone was.

Iwaizumi gave him a charming smile. “Oikawa, right?”

“Oh, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, grinning brightly to hide his formerly sour expression. “Hi.”

“Don’t call me that,” Iwaizumi huffed, rolling his eyes. “Can I sit here?”

“Go on,” Oikawa replied, gesturing to the empty seat next to him. Iwaizumi sat down, dumping the 5 books on art and camera mechanics on the table with a satisfied sigh.

“So,” the other male began. “What brings you here?”

“Day off,” Oikawa shrugged.

“Really? You’re a dance major, right?” Iwaizumi questioned. “Kage’s in dance, and he’s in class plie-ing his ass off.”

“Personal day off,” Oikawa clarified, but Iwaizumi’s statement sparked a question. “How do you know Tobio-chan so well? You guys are friends or something?”

Honestly, Oikawa disliked Kageyama with a burning passion. He was a goody-two-shoes, all-too-perfect genius with his legs pointed in perfect ways and that pissed him off. Despite being in his 2nd year of junior high when he started dancing, he already surpassed Oikawa’s technique within a year.  
Fucking genius. Geniuses pissed him off.

Judging by the well-hidden-but-not-well-enough disgusted expression on Oikawa’s face, Oikawa didn’t like him that much. Kageyama was cute and funny, probably not sweet, but lovable nonetheless.

“Hm, how about you?” Iwaizumi asked. Was Kageyama annoying in class or something? He wanted to know. He didn’t really know Oikawa very well, but it seemed like the brunet wasn’t the type to spill a personal opinion about someone to another person if he knew the closeness of their relationship.

“I don’t think I should tell you,” Oikawa deadpanned. “You guys seem close.”

“Maybe we are,” Iwaizumi replied. “But it isn’t like I’ll tell him.”

“Well,” Oikawa seemed convinced. “I don’t like him very much.”

“Why is that so?”

“He’s a genius. He’s too perfect, too accurate. And too inexperienced to be like that. He’s a genius who overshadows my hard work, and that pisses me off,” Oikawa replied, honestly.

Iwaizumi would be lying if he said his blood wasn’t boiling.

“Oikawa,” he growled. “Kageyama isn’t a genius. Don’t be a bitch. You keep calling him a genius, and that’s a fucking insult. He’s been working since he was 10, so don’t fucking discredit him like that. Don’t you dare tell me,” he paused for a breath, ignoring the questioning look on Oikawa’s face. “Don’t you dare tell me that my boyfriend is successful because he’s a dance Einstein, and that his 5-hours-of-practice-a-day rule has nothing to do with it.” Iwaizumi picked his books up and walked out of the library, leaving Oikawa with even more to think about.

\-------------

Kuroo was feeling lonely. Lonely wasn’t something Kuroo felt very often.

Breaking up with Oikawa had been on his mind for a long time now. It was only solidified when he realized that he was in too much pain to deal with more pain.

Kuroo sighed as he finally opened his backpack, deciding to unpack all his clothes and other things. He threw his dirty clothes in the basket near the kitchen, and his clean clothes were folded and put in the closet, and finally, he pulled out a large paper bag.

He placed his backpack on the floor and gently lay down the paper bag, before taking out its contents- incense sticks, matches, a holder, and finally, three framed pictures.

One was a medium-sized picture of his mother in her police uniform. She smiling playfully at the camera, taken the day she was crowned Inspector Tsukasa Kuroo. The other two were of his mother throwing him high into the air, grinning wildly as baby Kuroo threw his head back and giggled.

The final one was to replace Oikawa’s picture with him, with a picture of him, his father and his mother. Newborn baby Kuroo was in his mother’s arms, with his father hugging both of them.

“Oh,” Bokuto said, walking in. “Can I light the first stick with you?”

“Yeah,” Kuroo replied, swallowing back his tears. “Of course.”

Kuroo was sitting on the swings in the park at 3 in the morning. Bokuto was scraping away at his violin again, and whilst it was beautiful, Kuroo needed some time alone, which was why he was listening to music on a rusty swing at 3 AM.

He noticed a boy with blonde hair that was turning black at the roots, wearing a t-shirt and tracks with a jacket thrown on it, hunkered over a Switch and playing a random game. He plopped down on the swing next to Kuroo and muttered out a quiet ‘Hey,’ to which Kuroo responded with a lazy grin.

“I’ve seen you before, Pudding-head,” Kuroo remarked, pausing his music.  
“I could say the same to you, Rooster-san,” the boy replied.  
“It’s Kuroo Tetsurou.”  
“Kozume Kenma.”

“So,” Kuroo said, peering over Kozume’s shoulder. “What game is that?”  
“Animal Crossing,” Kozume replied, curtly.  
“Seems pointless,” Kuroo commented. Kozume hummed in response.  
“If it’s so pointless,” Kuroo began. “Why do you play it?”  
“Because,” Kozume said. “Shoyo asked me to. But now, I’m attached to it.”

Kuroo cocked his head. “Shoyo?”  
“Yeah, Hinata Shoyo,” Kozume said, calmly. “Short, cute, orange hair, braces?”  
“Oh, Sunshine-boy?” Kuroo said, finally remembering. “Is he your brother?”  
“Boyfriend,” Kozume corrected. “We seem to be losing the spark, though, nowadays.”

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to ask, when Kozume got up from the swings and walked away. “See ya, Kuro,” Kozume said.

Kozume Kenma was enigmatic, mysterious, and extremely cute, but he was taken.

** IKKEIIII ikKeI iKkEi iKkeI sEIjOh **

_tetsubro: emergency gang meeting_

_koutabro: kuroo r u good?_

_yayachill: kuroo-san?_

_tetsubro: yes im fine-_

_yayachill: oH- i see_

_suffering: ok then wots all this abt?_

_tetsubro: how to be a single man?_

_koutabro: right perfectly good reason for a gang meeting where  
do we meet up_

_tetsubro: ukai’s at 11 pm tonight_

_koutabro: ight  
suffering: mkay  
yayachill: yessir_

\-------------

** oOoOO oOoOO seiJOH **

_kiyolo: so asslessikawa  
kiyolo: it just aint ur week huh_

_toorup: c l e a r l y  
toorup: wait why?_

_macci n cheese: well ur bf of a year just broke up w you_

_hakuna matsukawa: and then iwaizumi-san screamed @ u_

_kiyolo: because you trashed his bf TO him_

_toorup: yes ik i make bad decisions_

_macci n cheese: he just did a bad thing  
hakuna matsukawa: HE REGRETS THIS THING A LOT  
macci n cheese: AND UR WONDERING WHAT IT IS  
kiyolo: ILL TELL YOU WHAT HE DID_

_toorup: i did a baaad thingggg_

_kiyolo: therefore, seeing as you have done bAd tInGz  
we’re having a gang meeting @ ukai’s tonight  
10:30 pm_

_toorup: but kuroo’s having a meeting there too?_

_kiyolo: who gives a fuck  
macci n cheese: yes queen  
hakuna matsukawa: p r e a c h_

_toorup: ok fine 😤_

At 10:30 PM exactly, Oikawa walked into Ukai’s bar, where Kiyoko was already sitting. Tanaka was behind the bar, flirting with her, and Kiyoko pressed a kiss to her boyfriend’s lips with a huff.

Oikawa wasn’t sure why that hurt so much. He felt relieved when Kuroo and him broke up, so why was it painful to see another couple’s PDA?

Makki and Mattsun pulled themselves away from the darts tournament they were having with Iwaizumi, Tobio-chan and Sunshine-boy. Sunshine-boy sat next to Pudding-head, laughing, whilst Pudding-head barely acknowledged him. Iwaizumi threw back his head and downed the rest of his whiskey before dancing around with Tobio-chan, grinning lazily.

Oikawa sighed before sitting next to Kiyoko, Makki and Mattsun and grabbed a fry from the plate in front of him, munching on it angrily.

“Tequila,” Oikawa said to Tanaka. “To drown myself in.”

Tanaka snickered obnoxiously before getting the bottle.

“So,” Oikawa said, turning to his best friends. “Why do we have an emergency gang meeting?”  
“Because _you_ need to get laid,” Kiyoko said, calmly.

Makki and Mattsun nodded in agreement. “No topping. You need to bottom.”

Oikawa choked. “I need to _what_?”

“Get laid,” all three of them deadpanned.

“By who?!”

“I dunno,” Matsukawa shrugged. “You pick.”

“Whaddya mean, pick,” Hanamaki said, looking at Matsukawa quizzically. “You want him to like, pick a prostitute?”

“No, dumbass,” Matsukawa said, hitting the back of Hanamaki’s head. “I meant, you have to go and like, get someone to screw you.”

“Leave, Oiks,” Kiyoko said, handing him the tequila bottle. “Chug the whole thing and go get laid, damn it.”

Oikawa had no choice but to oblige, because, what the hell, what did he have to lose anyway?

He threw his head back and guzzled the rest of the tequila, before blinking twice and putting the bottle down on the counter and cheering.

“Whoop,” Oikawa said, giggling like a high schooler. “One more!”

Makki cheered as he sipped his wine before joining Oikawa and dancing randomly in the middle of the bar. Tanaka handed him his next bottle and he drank it up like it was the first liquid he had in 2 months. Getting shit-faced was really helping with the pain.

“Yoohoo,” he called out. “Tobio-chan, Iwa-chan!”

Iwaizumi turned around with a lopsided grin. “Tooru!”  
“Oi-Oi-Oikawa-senpai,” Kageyama acknowledged. “Wanna throw some darts?”

“Nah,” Oikawa and Iwaizumi said at the same time. “Let’s dance!”

He chugged the rest of his tequila and laughed like a maniac, before body rolling with Iwaizumi. Sunshine-boy (Hinata, apparently) was singing ‘Don’t Lose Ur Head’ in terrible English, Kageyama was doing the riffs with him, Kozume was sipping his mineral water and Iwaizumi and Oikawa were waltzing each other around.

“Oikawa,” a deep voice said behind him. “Ushiwaka-chan!” Oikawa squealed, hugging him. “Dance with us,” he continued, dragging Ushijima to the crowd with him. Kozume retreated further to his corner.

“Okay,” Ushijima said, drinking his Scotch, before stealing Oikawa away and just vibing with the music with him. Iwaizumi ordered another whiskey and began singing Big Fun with the other boys, declaring himself Heather 1, 2 and 3.

Kuroo, Bokuto, Akaashi and Yachi walked in, sitting at a corner table after collecting their drinks. Kuroo noticed the dance party in the corner of the room, with Ushijima and Oikawa getting spicy with each other, and kissed his teeth in frustration.

“Ignore it,” Yachi said, calmly, putting a hand on Kuroo’s arm.  
Kuroo drank his bourbon, before setting it down. “Were we meant to be?”

“No,” Akaashi said, toeing the line between tipsy and sober. “You weren’t.”

“Why not,” Kuroo whined, slurring his words. “Hm?”

“Because,” Akaashi began, starting to get a little tipsy. “You were his best friend. And then his boyfriend. But there wasn’t any romantic attraction before. It was purely platonic, you know? And then, when Oikawa got a new best friend, you felt left out because you were his bro and now, you’re his hoe. And you know the saying, ‘bros before hoes,’ right? So, what I’m trying to say is, unless you were always a bit romantic with him, your besties-to-lovers story wouldn’t have worked out.”

“Oh, wow,” Bokuto said, lowkey drunk. “Deep shit. Anyway, guys, how do we help Tetsubro here?”

Said boy was currently trying to drink his alcohol through his nose, eliciting frustrated sighs from Yachi and Akaashi.

“Hm,” Yachi responded, thoughtfully. “Perhaps, if you maybe, like, have sex with someone, you’d be okay? Maybe it’ll help numb the pain, or whatever, you know, give you a boost to start seeing people again.”

“Yachi!” Bokuto gasped. “Brilliant!”

“Off you go,” Akaashi said, hoisting him up and pushing him away. “Shoo,” Kuroo got up with a groan and walked to the dance party.

“I’ll be going,” Yachi said. “The guy who’s been flirting with me all year is here, and I look hot today. I mean, it’s not like I’ll date him, I’m aromantic, but it’s still fun to flirt.”

“Agreed. Anyways, Bokuto-san!” Akaashi said, jumping on Bokuto. “Let’s dance!”

\-------------

“Oi, Tsukki,” Kuroo yelled. “What’s cookin’?”

Tsukishima glared in response. “What do you want, Kuroo-san?”

“So rude! I just wanna talk. Bourbon, please,” he told a random person, who nodded and went to tell Tanaka. “What do you want, Tsukki?”

“I’ve got my alcohol; I don’t need you to buy me a drink. Aren’t you with somebody anyway?” Tsukishima pointed out.

“Eh,” Kuroo drawled. “Whatever. Talk to me, Tsukki, I’m bored!”

“Ugh, fine. How’s Chemistry, I guess.”

“Great,” Kuroo began.

Tsukishima would be lying if he said it wasn’t nice to talk to his ex-flame again.

\-------------

“Psst, Kiyoko,” Oikawa hiccupped. Kiyoko turned to Oikawa with an eyebrow raised.

“Ushiwaka is hella horny, should I go for it?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kiyoko replied. “Go away.”

“Yay!” Oikawa dropped off his cocktail and turned to Ushijima. “Let’s get it.”

Ushijima grunted in response. The cab was waiting for them, so they got inside.

“Oikawa,” Ushijima slurred. “What about Ten-,” Oikawa cut him off.

“This,” he said, gesturing to Ushijima and himself, sloppily. “This is a one-time thing. Riri doesn’t need to know.”

“Okay,” Ushijima said, pulling Oikawa towards him by the collar and kissing him.

When they reached Furudate Hall, they were breathless. They rushed up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time, unlocked Ushijima’s dorm and then dropped onto the bed.

\-------------

Meanwhile, in the bar, Kuroo was aggressively kissing Tsukishima.

“Kuroo-san,” Tsukishima breathed out. “W-We’re not supposed to be doing this,” he groaned. “Yamaguchi and Oikawa might find out…”

“Fuck it, Tsukishima,” Kuroo hissed. “Oikawa broke up with me. Which is why we are doing this. Yamaguchi doesn’t need to know, and I hope you won’t tell him.”

Tsukishima began kissing back, to drunk to care. They left Yamaguchi in the other corner of the bar, where he was singing _even more musical songs_ with the rest of the dance party. They barely made it into a bathroom stall before they could continue.

“Tsukki,” Yamaguchi called out. Kuroo was sitting on a toilet, slumped against a wall, with _Yamaguchi’s boyfriend_ on his lap.

Tsukishima whined in annoyance, opening his mouth to say something, but Kuroo covered it with his hand, glaring.

“Tsukki, I know you’re in here,” Yamaguchi said, voice cracking. “Tsukki? Tsukki!”

Kuroo peered above the stall just enough to see Yamaguchi begin to check underneath the doors. He knew the jig was up.

Yamaguchi got closer towards the stall they were in, and Kuroo’s breath quickened. Tsukishima was still _naked_ , damn it. He had most of his clothes on, well minus his pants, but _damn it._

Tsukishima looked down the minute Yamaguchi peered up.

“Fuck,” Tsukishima squeaked, watching Yamaguchi’s face harden.

Yamaguchi’s world was crumbling around him, seeing Tsukishima on his junior high’s crush’s lap. He knew Kuroo was going to be a bit of a problem. He saw this coming, but that didn’t make the pain any less bearable.

“Tsukishima.” Yamaguchi sternly began. “Get out of the stall, with your clothes on.”

Tsukishima was tearing up. “Tadashi, I,” he began.

“No. I don’t want to hear it. Come here, now.”

Tsukishima began to dress himself up, roughly handing Kuroo his clothes, before adjusting his piercing and stepping out of the stall. Kuroo had definitely fucked the drunkenness out of him, he was now completely sober and quaking with fear.

He unlocked the stall door as soon as Kuroo was dressed up and standing, and stepped outside, barely able to meet Yamaguchi’s pained, angry eyes.

He stared at his sneakers, clenching and unclenching his hands, waiting for Yamaguchi to say something.

“Look at me,” Yamaguchi said. Tsukishima shook his head.

“Kei, look at me.”

Tsukishima looked up, seeing Yamaguchi with the most unreadable expression on his face, and then looked back down. He heard Yamaguchi huff before stepping towards him and grabbing his jaw roughly, and kissing his lips with a vengeance, staring at Kuroo condescendingly the whole time.

He opened his mouth, letting Tsukishima run his tongue around it, before pinning the blonde to the wall and kissing back. When they parted, Yamaguchi interlaced Tsukishima’s hand, eyes never leaving Kuroo.

Yamaguchi took a step towards Kuroo and glared at him, making the taller man feel tiny even though Yamaguchi was 8 centimeters shorter than him. The brunet grabbed Kuroo’s collar and said, “Don’t you ever take advantage of somebody like that again.”

Tsukishima stared, eyes wide, as Yamaguchi dropped Kuroo to the floor, held Tsukishima’s hand and dragged him outside.

\-------------

“Tobio-chan,” Oikawa began, looking at Kageyama. The blue-eyed boy turned to look at Oikawa. “Iwa-chan, you too.” The raven looked up from his phone, pausing his music.

“I’m sorry,” Oikawa said. It took all of his willpower to not shrug and say something other than that, but it was something he had to do. He had to get rid of his worthless pride, and say sorry to Iwaizumi and Kageyama, because he felt bad and they deserved a good apology.

From Oikawa.

“For what?” Kageyama asked, concerned. “What happened, Oikawa-san?”

“I discredited you, Tobio. I called you a genius because of the fact that you are simply more blessed than I am. I completely disregarded your hard work, and I’m sorry. Also, I pissed off Iwa-chan, so…”

Kageyama smiled. “It’s okay, Oikawa-san. I’m sorry, too,” he pushed up his glasses. “I called you a bitch once.”

“Oof,” Oikawa replied, grinning. “Friends?” He extended a hand, and Kageyama shook it, nodding.

“Friends.”

“Character development,” Iwaizumi said, watching the exchange with a fond smile. “We stan.”

The trio laughed.

\-------------

“It’s 3 in the morning, again, Pudding. Do you ever sleep?” Kuroo looked towards his companion, once again hunkered over his switch.

“No,” Kozume deadpanned. “Do you?”

“Nah. Usually, I’m up because I’m studying. Today’s different, though,” Kuroo sighed. Every time he slept, he dreamt of his mother in her casket. Every single week, he’s been reliving the funeral in chunks. It was weird.

“Hm? What’s different?”

“Reliving a funeral,” Kuroo responded- God, that sounded freaky.

“Oh. Whose?”

“My mother.”

Kozume looked up from his game, eyebrows scrunched together in worry, and Kuroo felt his heart pound in his chest. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Kuroo breathed out. “I think.”

“I guess you’re processing,” Kozume turned back to his game. “That’s good.”

“Mhm.”

“I’m also processing,” Kozume mumbled, almost inaudibly.

“What happened?”

“My relationship died.”

“Oh,” Kuroo replied, slightly excited. Kozume Kenma was no longer taken, thank _fuck._ “Your relationship with Hinata?”

“Yep,” Kozume said. “He likes someone else now. And I guess I have my eye on somebody else, too.”

“Who is it?” Kuroo asked, wondering if it could possibly be _him_ that Kozume likes.

“Kageyama. Shoyo likes Kageyama,” Kozume clarified. “They’re cute together. Height difference and all that.”

Kuroo hummed in response. “What about you?”

“I think he’s taken but I’m not sure.”

“Who is it?”

Kozume looked at Kuroo, smiling (barely). “Maybe next time. See ya, Kuro.”

Again. Why does this boy always run away?! Kuroo groaned into his hands.

\-------------

“Iwaizumi-san,” Kageyama said, hopping from one foot to the other. “We need to talk.”

“Kage?” Iwaizumi looked up at his boyfriend. “What’s wrong?”

Kageyama stood in front of Iwaizumi. “Ithinkweshouldbreakitoff.”

“You think we should break it off,” Iwaizumi repeated, slowly.

“Yeah,” Kageyama nodded. “I’m sorry. It’s just,” the boy struggled to find the right words. “It doesn’t feel right.”

Iwaizumi let out a breath. “You’re right. It doesn’t,” the boy said. “Do you want me to switch to another dorm?”

“No,” Kageyama replied. “You can stay here. I’ll leave.” The raven picked up his backpack and trudged towards the door. “Thank you for these past 2 years, Iwaizumi-san.”

He opened the door and disappeared, and Iwaizumi sat back down.

** toorup **

_iwaimzoomin: shittykawa help me_

_toorup: ???_

_iwaimzoomin: my relationship just keeled over and  
died pls send help _

_toorup: deets please or you won’t get  
any help_

_toorup: jkjk hang in there where’s ur dorm_

_iwaimzoomin: 409_

_toorup: omw_

Oikawa knocked on the door. “Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi opened the door and yanked Oikawa inside. “Oh my god I’m so glad you’re here I feel like a mega-penis,” Iwaizumi ranted.

“Woah, woah, slow your roll!” Oikawa pushed Iwaizumi onto the couch and sat down next to him. “Tell me what the problem is.”

“Kage and I broke up. He likes someone else; I know that much. But I’m not sure why _I_ feel so relieved.”

Oikawa laughed. “I know, I’ve been there before. My friends told me to get laid,”- Iwaizumi’s eyes widened comically- “But I’m not sure if that would work for you.”

“Maybe… I’d rather just vent.”

“Sure,” Oikawa replied, getting up. He opened the cupboard and took out some lavender teabags and began putting water in a kettle to boil. “Go on.”

“Kageyama likes Hinata,” Iwaizumi said. “Kozume and Hinata broke it off because Hinata likes Kageyama too, but he doesn’t like infidelity, and Kozume revealed that he likes someone else as well.”

Oikawa nodded, focusing on the tea- _both_ kinds.

“And then, Kuroo screwed Tsukishima, so Tsukishima and Yamaguchi’s relationship was strained. Then Kageyama and Hinata spent a lot of time fixing their relationship because they’re childhood friends, which made Kageyama and Hinata closer and then they kissed randomly. And liked it. And so, Kageyama broke it off with me to be with Hinata.”

“One sec, Kuroo and Tsukishima had sex?”

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi responded. “They did.”

“Dang. Sounds weird,” Oikawa shuddered. “Here’s your tea.”

Iwaizumi sipped it, shakily. Oikawa leaned back into the couch, sighing.

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi began, seriously. “Kageyama and I weren’t going to work out.”

“Aw, don’t be so negative!”

“No,” Iwaizumi said. “I mean it.” Oikawa raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“And why’s that?”

“I loved him, but I preferred him as a friend more than a boyfriend. I was protective over him, but not head over heels in love with him. He admired me, but didn’t love me. Things like that, they just don’t work out. When we finally meet people we truly like,” Iwaizumi’s voice cracked, tears pricking the corner of his eyes. “Our relationship would feel wrong.”

Oikawa wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi, holding him close to his chest. His added height let him place his chin on Iwaizumi’s head, and the brunet rubbed soothing circles on his back, letting the shorter male sob into his chest, clutching his t-shirt tightly.

For some reason, Oikawa felt the urge to kiss the top of Iwaizumi’s head, so he softly pressed his lips to the scalp, the raven’s soft hair tickling his cheeks and he breathed in the scent of his bergamot shampoo.

 _‘This might be bad timing,’_ Oikawa thought to himself. _‘But, fuck, I’m attracted to him.’_

\-------------

** blueberry milk **

_hyperactive tangerine: kageyamaaaa_

_blueberry milk: yeah?_

_hyperactive tangerine: did u break up with iwaizumi-san?_

_blueberry milk: mhm. he took it well._

_hyperactive tangerine: im glad that it went well and now i hv u all  
to myself but i still feel bad for iwaizumi-san_

_hyperactive tangerine: its alright tho 😄_

_blueberry milk: boke 💖_

Kageyama knocked on the door of Hinata’s dorm. Kozume opened the door, holding his phone, and when he saw Kageyama’s backpack, he sighed and picked up his duffel bag.

“Kozume-san, I-,” Kageyama began, but Kozume waved his hand to silence him.

“It’s alright, Kageyama,” Kozume replied. “409, right? I’ll go there.”

Kageyama nodded. “Okay, Kozume-san. Please take care of yourself!” He bowed in respect, he felt super guilty for making _Kozume_ move out even though _Hinata_ made a mistake, but it was their fight and their relationship, and Kageyama didn’t pry more than he needed to.

Kozume replied with a grunt and trudged down the corridor, dragging his feet and swiping at his phone.

“Hinata?” Kageyama said, closing the door and toeing off his trainers. Hinata ran out of his bedroom and squealed when he saw Kageyama, all 188 centimeters of him and his _huge_ backpack. He leaped into his arms and Kageyama caught him (just like when they were kids), and spun him around.

“Kageyama,” Hinata gasped, in between peels of giggles. “You’re here!”

“I’m here,” he replied, and softly placed his lips on Hinata’s.

\-------------

** salt **

_starz: babe im in the park where r u_

_salt: im like right there gimme a sec_

_starz: mk_

“Yamaguchi?”

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi said, making his way towards him and holding his hand. “Where are we going?”

“There’s this cabin-themed café that they opened near here. I wanted to walk around with you before we went,” Tsukishima replied, calmly. “The weather’s nice.”

It was cloudy and cold, and reminded them of their hometown, which was where they met and became best friends with Kageyama and Hinata.

They walked around in silence, Tsukishima’s left hand in his pocket and his right holding Yamaguchi’s, and Yamaguchi’s free hand was texting their group chat with Kageyama and Hinata.

“Wanna go inside?” Tsukishima asked. Yamaguchi nodded, excited.

They pushed the door open, and walked inside. It had a warm atmosphere, with a few people walking around the café and a few others serving people. There was a fireplace crackling merrily in a corner, and warm-toned lightbulbs hung from the ceiling by ropes. There were little wood tables and burgundy carpets, and there were burgundy and white accents. There was a pink-haired male with pale skin serving people called Makki, and another boy taking orders called Mattsun. They zipped around on roller-skate sneakers, which made Yamaguchi giggle and Tsukishima crack a smile.

“I love this place already,” Yamaguchi said, with a laugh. “Tsukki, you’re the best!”

Tsukishima ruffled his hair with a smile. “No, you are.”

  
\-------------

** tetsubro **

_kodzuken: do u know of a free dorm_

_tetsubro: ???  
tetsubro: kenma?_

_kodzuken: my homewrecker kicked me out and when i went  
to his dorm to get a room his ex-boyfriend’s friend said he was  
dorming there so now i’m cold, hungry and tired  
kodzuken: and dormless_

_tetsubro: oh dear god kenma  
tetsubro: one of my best friend’s bf is dorming  
opposite me and his roomie moved to a diff  
dorm so that room is free _

_kodzuken: ill take it my phone’s at 15%_

Kozume sighed as he knocked on Kuroo’s door, and the raven opened it with a grin.

“Kenma,” he said. “This is Akaashi Keiji. He’s your roommate, if you’ll let him.”

Kozume turned to look at Akaashi- a pale-skinned male with gunmetal eyes that were gorgeous. He was hot, but Kuroo was hotter- Kenma! Not here!

“Hi,” Kozume said, simply. Akaashi waved back with a nod. A man of few words, that was perfect.

Wordlessly, Akaashi and Kozume went to their dorm and began setting things up.

\-------------

** chocolatendou **

_wakatoshi: satori, i have something i need to tell you._

_chocolatendou: hm? Is it important bb_

_wakatoshi: yes. it’s very important._

_chocolatendou: i’m in a meeting gimme 5 mins to go  
to a restroom and call you from there_

_wakatoshi: thank you._

7 agonizingly long minutes later, Ushijima got a call from the redhead. He was currently sitting in his dorm, eyes on Tendou’s side of the bed, eyeing it in worry. He picked up the call and took a deep breath.

“Hello?”

 _“Wakatoshi?”_ Tendou’s voice was pulsating with concern. Ushijima felt worse than before.

“I understand you’re busy, so I am going to just… Spit it out.”

Tendou hummed in reply.

“I… I had a, uh, one-night stand,” – silence from the other end – “With O-Oikawa Tooru.”

 _“Okay,”_ It was obvious the redhead was choosing his words carefully. _“Sober or drunk?”_

“Really drunk. At least a bottle of tequila and various other drinks. My head was exploding the next morning.”  
_“Did it feel good?”  
_Ushijima thought long and hard. “No. It’s something I don’t really remember, but it didn’t exactly feel… Good. Something was missing.”

 _“How many times have you talked to Oikawa after the incident?”  
_“Nearly every day. Mostly counselling him, he’s going through some shit.”  
_“Mhm. Would you ever do it again?”  
_“No. Never. Not because of the fact that it’s basic relationship etiquette, or because it felt lacking, but because I just can’t do that again. I love you.”

_“Then, I have nothing to worry about, do I?”_

  
Ushijima let out a sigh of relief. “No.”

_“I’m coming home in 3 months. I’ll be home. We’ll have a video call tomorrow?”_

“Yes,” Ushijima said. “I love you so much.”

_“I love you even more.”_

\-------------

Akaashi, Kuroo, Kozume and Bokuto were a wild, wild gang. They had sleepovers every Thursday, and Kozume almost always ended up in Kuroo’s bed as the little spoon.

Not that he was complaining.

They got drunk every 2 Saturdays, and it was during one of these drunk situations, that Kuroo leaned over the table and stared long and deep at Kozume’s eyes.

“W-W-What are you looking at?” Kozume stuttered. Kuroo’s _face_ was 3 centimeters away from his, and he was looking at him, practically devouring him with his eyes. Kozume dragging his eyes away from Kuroo’s lips and looked down to the floor, and didn’t look back up until he heard Kuroo slouch back in his seat.

Akaashi and Bokuto were looking at this showdown with a mixture of amusement and disappointment.

“Sexual tension?” Bokuto whispered.  
“Up by 600 points.”  
“Damn it, I was betting they’d get together by 20,000! We’re at 21,000 and they’re still eyefucking each other.”  
_“Bokuto-san.”  
_“Sorry, Akaashi!”

All four of them suffered from sleep deprivation- Kuroo pored over his Chemistry, Bokuto played his violin at ungodly hours -and the times he’d play darker-sounding tunes Tsukishima from the dorm above would scream at them for exorcising ghosts-, Kozume played Animal Crossing until it was time to get ready for classes, and Akaashi… Well, he’s gone to WikiHow and searched up ‘How to sleep amidst equation recitals, violin concerts and gaming ASMRs’ at least 67 times.

Bokuto had actually _crowned_ Akaashi has the ‘only man who stumped WikiHow.’

It was 3 in the morning again, and Kuroo was listening to music on the swing when Kozume stumbled over to him and plopped onto the swing next to him.

“No game today?” Kuroo asked, pausing his music.

“No.”

“Why?”

“I have a confession to make.” Kozume replied, calmly, but his heart was beating right out of his chest and there was bile rising up his throat.

“Go on.”

“I love you,” he blurted out.

Kuroo’s eyes bulged out of his skull and he fell backwards off the swing. “You _what_ ,” he asked in disbelief. He stopped the swing with his hand and looked at Kozume.

“I love you!” Kozume said, loudly. He began sobbing, body shaking with every gasp for air. “I really, really love you!”

“You love me,” Kuroo repeated, slowly. _“You love me!”_ He began laughing. “Oh, thank god.”

Kozume raised his head, tears slowly making their way down his face. “What do you mean?”

“I love you too.”

“Huh?”

“Kenma, I love you. I love you so much. I love your hair, your eyes, the way you sometimes make Animal Crossing noises, the fact that you’re taking animation as a major even though you’re already working as a Youtuber… I love you. I love how you’re funny and calm and a majorly horny drunk and-,” Kozume cut him off.

“Be my boyfriend.”

Kuroo stared up at him from his position under the swing. He shot up, bashing his head against the seating area, and wincing, rubbing his forehead.

“Okay."

\-------------

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, dropping his bag against the kitchen counter. He put his ballet slippers in their box near the genkan. “I’m home.”

Iwaizumi turned around, holding a plate of muffins. “Want one?”

Oikawa’s eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly. He picked up a muffin and took a bite; it was fudgey and sticky and hot and delicious- and very messy. He licked a bit of chocolate off his index finger and then his lips, giggling. “Iwa-chan! You’re such a go-,” Iwaizumi cut him off by placing a finger to his lips.

“Don’t say another word,” Iwaizumi said. “I’m going to do something now, and you’re either going to like it or not like it. But I’m doing it anyway.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened as Iwaizumi pressed his lips against Oikawa’s, kissing him hesitantly at first. His hand went to the back of Oikawa’s head, feeling his fluffy hair, and Oikawa kissed him back.

Iwaizumi ran his tongue against Oikawa’s bottom lip, smiling slightly as he pressed the back of his head so Oikawa was closer to his lips. Oikawa opened his mouth, letting Iwaizumi deepen the kiss, tilting his head. His hands went to Iwaizumi’s shoulders and he gripped them tight, feeling the muscle.

Iwaizumi pulled away, surveying Oikawa’s face. His cheeks were pink, his eyes were big, bright and shiny, his nose was sweating slightly and his lips were puffy and parted. Oikawa closed his mouth, gulping as he stared back at Iwaizumi.

“God, I’m so in love with you that my chest hurts,” Iwaizumi breathed out, and he kissed Oikawa again, this time desperate and dripping with want and need, it was all teeth and tongue and fucking fantastic.

When Oikawa pulled away, he stared into those sea-green eyes. “I’d die for you.”

“Please,” Iwaizumi replied, wrapping an arm around Oikawa’s waist and pulling him closer. “Don’t die.”

\-------------

At the end of first-year, all the second-years pick roommates and move into a dorm for 4 students. Iwaizumi and Oikawa became super-close with Ushijima and Tendou once Tendou returned. Bokuto, Akaashi, Kuroo and Kenma sharing a dorm was kind of a no-brainer. And Tsukishima and Yamaguchi decided that Kageyama and Hinata would be the best dormmates for them.

\-------------

** dorm 1515 **

_kodzuken: kuro ill be late_

_tetsubro: nOOO kitten why_

_kodzuken: it’s a surprise_

_tetsubro: for who? :pleading_face:_

_kodzuken: you_

_tetsubro: kitten 💖💖💖💖_

_koutabro: p_

_suffering: d_

_koutabro: a_

_suffering: !_

_tetsubro: shaddup he’s my kitten i can be affectionate w him  
whenever i want_

_suffering: keep it limited to dms and ur bedroom when we’re_

_trying to watch a movie i refuse to witness yet another kuroken  
makeout sesh_

_koutabro: ^^^ preach  
  
_

_kodzuken: keiji im stealing ur kneecaps_

_suffering: steal my life instead_

_koutabro: E X C U S E_

_tetsubro: M E_

_suffering: im suffering id like an end to my acquired insomnia_

_tetsubro: **docosahexaenoic acid  
**koutabro: _ **_tchaikovsky violin concerto_ **

_kodzuken: **animal crossing noises**_

_suffering: @jesus tAkE MY HAND,, TAKE MY WHOLE LIFE  
TOOOOOOO_ _  
jesus: u called-_

_kodzuken:_

** dorm 1514 **

_wakatoshi: @chocolatendou schedule for today?_

_chocolatendou: got some work but free after 7_

_toorup: riri ur such a good bf_

_iwaimzoomin: shittykawa be quiet they’re having a  
✨moment✨  
toorup: iwa-chan they have a moment every day i-  
iwaimzoomin: shhh babe_

_wakatoshi: haha, it’s alright. we’re just madly in love._

_toorup: 😳  
iwaimzoomin: 😳 _

_wakatoshi: oh my god, i did not send that. satori stole my phone_

_chocolatendou:_

_toorup: whY AM I A MEME?!_

_iwaimzoomin: ajhsdjkajdkljs  
toorup: imma break up w u  
iwaimzoomin: that aint what u said last night, you said-_

_toorup: AH AH AH THAT STOPS THERE_

\-------------

** dorm 1325 **

_salt: hello._

_hyperactive tangerine: tsukKI STARTED THE GC THAT’S NEW_

_salt: u got a problem w that u shrimp_

_blueberry milk: one more sound and i’m deleting you_ _😊_

 _starz: Try Me Bitch_ _😊😊_

_blueberry milk: … you may insult him_

_hyperactive tangerine: kageyamaaaa 😭_

_blueberry milk: sorry bb but i prefer to have my hair and hands and so on_

_hyperactive tangerine: i-_

_starz: 😘_

_salt: n e wayzz i wanted to go out today @starz_

_hyperactive tangerine: DOUBLE_

_hyperactive tangerine: DATE_

_blueberry milk: boke no_

_starz: DOUBLE_

_starz: DATE_

_salt: yamaguchi urusai_

_starz: noPE_

_hyperactive tangerine: oOoooh_

_blueberry milk: get wRECKT_

_salt: double date (that will end up turning into a weird gang  
meeting with waaay too much dancing) it is_

\-------------

**@shoyo.official  
**POST -  
(picture of Kageyama and Hinata on-stage, Hinata playing a guitar as Kageyama does an aerial cartwheel)  
CAPTION -  
_“gah kageyama ily!”  
**@iwaimzoomin** , **@kageyamatobi  
**_COMMENTS -  
**@tsuki.shima:** shrimpy that concert was good  
> **@tsuki.shima:** for once  
> **@shoyo.official:** tsukki!! Ty  
> **@shoyo.official:** nvm…  
**@kageyamatobio:** boke 😘 also ty iwaizumi-san for taking that pic!!  
> **@iwaimzoomin:** boy that was a lit cartwheel no way I couldn’t have snapped a shot  
> **@therealoikawatooru:** ^^

**@tetsuro-tm  
**POST -  
(selfie of Kuroo and Kenma at a restaurant, holding up peace-signs and Kenma holding up a 7)  
CAPTION –  
_7 years!!  
_**_@kodzuken  
_**COMMENTS -  
**@koutaro.official:** congratulations best bros  
> **@tetsuro-tm:** ty bro  
> **@koutaro.official:** bro  
> **@tetsuro-tm:** bRo  
> **@keijiwrites:** stopping that right here  
> **@kodzuken:** ^^  
**@shoyo.official:** yay!! **@kodzuken  
**> **@kodzuken: _😊_**

**@keijiwrites  
**POST -  
(selfie of Akaashi and Bokuto holding a baby with rings on their fingers)  
CAPTION –  
_just adopted a beautiful baby girl! world, meet miyuki bokuto 💖  
**@koutaro.official**  
_COMMENTS -  
**@koutaro.official:** she’s so stunning i’m still in shock  
> **@hitoka_art:** lmao but yes she is gorgeous _  
_ > **@kodzuken:** :pleading eyes:  
**@shoyo.official:** wah bokuto-sAN, Akaashi-san, that’s awesome news   
**@therealoikawatooru:** she’s beautiful!!  
> **@tetsuro-tm:** ^^^

**@iwaimzoomin  
**POST -  
(Oikawa on-stage holding a handheld mic, wearing a skirt and pointing to the right, with the spotlight shining on him)  
CAPTION -  
_still can’t believe that tooru’s wrapping up his final performance for his first musical 💖 i’m so proud of him!  
**@therealoikawatooru  
**_COMMENTS -  
**@satorichocolate:** my god is that a skirt? looks fabulous! **@iwaimzoomin** explain  
> **@iwaimzoomin:** yep that’s a skirt,, he’s openly gay so he’s cool with accepting female roles + he likes how he can use his voice better PLUS he feels empowered apparently  
> **@plantsbywakatoshi:** lmao what a queen  
**@matsukawatakahiro:** omg me and **@hanamakiissei** saw the performance it was amazing  
> **@kiyoko:** lol yeah i saw it with **@ryuu** and he couldn’t stop screaming  
> **@ryuu:** don’t expoSE ME LIKE THAT  
**@therealoikawatooru: _💖_**  
> **@kageyamatobio:** tickets to ur next performance pls  
> **@therealoikawatooru:** yessir

**@plantsbywakatoshi  
**POST -  
(picture of Tendou accepting an award in a suit and Ushijima holding his hand)  
CAPTION -  
_this may not be a plant but this is my boyfriend and therefore i will express my pride in him via social media to my hundreds of thousands of followers.  
**@satorichocolate  
**_COMMENTS -  
**@therealoikawatooru:** omg congratulations!!  
> **@therealoikawatooru:** lmao that caption though  
**@satorichocolate:** babe preach  
> **@iwaimzoomin:** SEND. US. CHOCOLATES.  
> **@therealoikawatooru:** ^^

**@yama.guchi  
**POST -  
(selfie of Tsukishima and Yamaguchi holding up their hands, showing off rings)  
CAPTION -  
_we’re getting married! invites coming soon don’t spam the comments asking for em- ily tsukki 💖  
**@tsuki.shima  
**_COMMENTS -  
**tsuki.shima:** i’d propose to you all over again-  
**shoyo.official:** IM PLANNING UR WEDDING AND BOKUTO-SAN AND I ARE PLAYING AT IT TOO  
**kageyamatobio:** celebratory drinks @ ukai’s??  
> **tsuki.shima:** @kageyamatobio ur the designated driver then  
> **kageyamatobio:** whatever u say loverboy  
> **yama.guchi:** BAHAHHAHA

_**THE END!** _


	2. character aesthetics!

Hello! Thank you for reading :D Here are a few character aesthetics I've made to kinda just ~lighten the mood~.

NOTE: Makki, Mattsun, Yachi and Kiyoko have smaller aesthetics because they aren't main characters. 

EDIT: it didn't work before,, but i bet it's working now!

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: i actually love chemistry lmao


End file.
